


Dragon's Creed

by liviy695



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-21 14:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 75,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7390366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liviy695/pseuds/liviy695
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toothless rescued Hiccup during the final exam and evaded capture by leaving with Hiccup. Berk acts as if Hiccup never existed,except Astrid who cant forget that magical flight. But what happens when Hiccup unexpectedly comes back with some new friends and some big differences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

So this is my first FanFic. Please be nice when reviewing and by that I mean don't not say anything bad, just say it in a nice way thanks.

I have a pretty good idea of where the next couple chapters are going but after that? So it may go a bit random. You have been warned.

Dragons Creed

The arena watched in excitement as the gate to the Monstrous Nightmares pen was slowly lifted. Suddenly the dragon burst through the gate in a blaze of fire. The dragon jumped frantically around the arena, spraying molten fire as it searched for away out of the arena. But when it found none its attention turned to the only other occupant in the arena. It fell down from the caged ceiling and advanced towards Hiccup in a predatory manner. However, as it prepared to attack, Hiccup stood his ground and began dropping his weapons and armor. Hiccup stretched his hand out before the dragon, no fear in his eyes. Every Viking in the arena went silent as he walked towards the Monstrous Nightmare.

"I'm not one of them." Hiccup said.

Everyone watched in awe as he gently placed his hand on the dragon's snout. For that single moment Hiccup believed that everything would be alright, that Stoick and everyone would see that dragons weren't to be feared. The Monstrous Nightmare remained calm under his guidance, content at not being under attack. Hiccup truly thought that everything would be fine, but then it happened.

"Stop the fight." Stoick suddenly shouted.

"No, I need you see this." Hiccup ordered. Everyone looked between the chief and his son, unsure what to do.

"I said stop the fight!"

Hiccup watched as everything went into slow motion. Stoick brought his hammer down on the arenas protective bars in anger and the Monstrous Nightmare in front of Hiccup registered that it was in danger. Hiccup didn't blame it for attacking; anything or anyone would have done the same. The whole audience erupted in panic as the Nightmare chased Hiccup around the arena. However, Hiccup barely had enough time to register what was even happening until an all too familiar sound pierced the air and a shot of fire pierced through the arena.

Hiccup had never seen Toothless look so determined. He charged into the arena, eyes blazing and attacked the Monstrous Nightmare. Toothless managed to get the other dragon to stand down and the moment Toothless laid eyes on Hiccup he physically relaxed. Toothless rushed over to Hiccup and started prodding him with his nose to make sure he was all right. "It's okay boy, I'm fine." But of course a Night Fury standing dangerously close to the chief's son, in the middle of a fight could only mean one thing.

"Night Fury!" cried a random Viking from somewhere in the crowd. The arena again went silent as everyone gazed in wonder at the never before seen dragon. Hiccup knew that any moment the shock would wear off and everyone would start making a move for their weapons, so he started walking to put himself in between Toothless and the Viking hoard.

"Hiccup! What are you doing? RUN!" cried Stoick.

"No dad I can't do that." Hiccup replied in defiance.

"What do you mean? Move now before that thing kills you."

"Toothless would never hurt me." Toothless even crouched down into a defensive stance as if to emphasis his point.

"Hiccup run or you might get hurt while we kill that beast…Wait what did you say?"

"Toothless won't hurt me, but if you do anything to hurt him I will have to do something crazy." Toothless somehow already knowing what Hiccup was planning stealthily moved in to position.

"Hiccup get away from that thing or so help me Thor, I will come down there and drag you away myself.

"You can try…"

At that moment Toothless shot four plasma blasts in quick succession at the remains dragon pens. Suddenly the dragons burst free and the arena erupted into chaos. After a few fire balls and a lot of confusion the dragons had escaped through the giant hole now in the middle of the arenas roof. Now all that was left was Toothless and Hiccup.

His eyes scanned the crowd but she was still standing by the gate, her eyes trained on him, she knew what he had to do. Hiccup saw the tears running down her cheek and he couldn't believe she was crying over him.

"I'm sorry" Hiccup whispered but he knew she could hear him. "Goodbye," with that he climbed on Toothless' back. Murmurs erupted throughout the arena, but he didn't take the time to explain to them, they'd never understand.

"Come on bud, get us out of here." Toothless shot up into the air higher and higher until just below the cloud layer. Hiccup looked back at the land he had called his home up until that moments and knew that one day he would come back.

-X-

"Stoick…Stoick are you ok?" Gobber shook Stoick shoulder lightly, trying to get his attention.

"Stoick? What do you want to do about Hiccup?" Stoick's eyes remained trained the sky where Hiccup had vanished through the clouds on the back of a dragon, a Night Fury no less.

"Nothing." Stoick eventually said, turning his gaze away from the sky and began walking back towards the village.

"Nothing? We can't do nothing." Gobber said quickly running after him.

"He turned his back on us Gobber. Let him go." Stoick said, not breaking his stride.

"We can't just let him go Stoick, he is your son!" Gobber said trying to reason with him.

"Son?!" Stoick shouted as he quickly spun round to face Gobber. "I have no Son!"

Please Review


	2. Life Now

Six years later - - - Life on Berk

Life for Astrid was never the same after that day. After the 'incident' as it was now called everyone acted as if nothing had happened. It made Astrid sick to think that everyone could just pretend that a person never existed, especially someone as well known as Hiccup. Stoick was never the same after that day; he became obsessed with hunting dragons. No dragon ever lived once Stoick got hold of them. And anyone that stood up to Stoick was exiled, no one was shown mercy, not even Gobber. No one would ever forget the day when Stoick exiled his closest friend.

Flash Back

It had been a month since the 'incident' and Berk was just cleaning up the mess from the previous night's raid. It had been the first raid since the 'incident' but everyone treated it just the same, except no one expected to hear the call of a Night Fury. The smell of dragon blood was still thick in the air. Gobber approached Stoick, dried blood all over his fur vest.

"Stoick we captured three dragons, would like us to put them into the dragon pens?" Gobber asked.

"No…" Stoick said, starring down at the smoking remains of Berk.

"No? Then what would you like us to do with them?" Gobber asked, confused.

"Slaughter them!" Stoick shouted turning away from the village and walking towards his house.

"Stoick listen, I hate dragons as much as the next Viking but we need to spare some for dragon training purposes." Gobber said, almost running to keep up with Stoick.

"I told you to kill them! So kill them!" Stoick shouted suddenly turning back to face Gobber. The two stood in silence for a moment just starring at each other.

"As you wish chief." Gobber eventually said.

"And while you're at it tell the men that there will be another dragon nest hunt in 3 days, tell them to prepare." Stoick finished, resuming his walk back to his house.

"Stoick this is the third hunt this month let the men rest and recuperate."

"No! No one rests until the dragon nest is destroyed!"

"Stoick! Stop this." Gobber said, grabbing Stoick by the arm and pulling him back. "We both know this isn't about the dragons, it's about Hiccup."

"I know no one by that name." Stoick said pulling his arm from Gobber's grasp.

"Stoick listen to yourself! Hiccup is your son and no matter how hard you might wish it; he is still your son." All went silent as the two men stared at each other.

"Stoick come on let's go sit down and have a talk and just calm down." Gobber said gently trying to lead Stoick the rest of the way to his house.

"Leave…" Stoick said, refusing to move.

"What?" Gobber asked.

"Leave now…Leave now and never come back." Stoick said.

"Stoick…" Gobber pleaded.

"Leave!" Stoick shouted.

Stoick turned his back on Goober and marched up the hill to his house, not once looking back. Gobber left that very hour, taking with him very few supplies. He didn't say a word to anyone as he packed up his entire life and walked towards the docks. He walked past Astrid on his way down, she felt she should say something to him but she didn't know what to say, but luckily she didn't have too,

"Don't give up on him Astrid; I know he will be back some day. Don't forget about him."

"I won't, I promise." Astrid replied, Gobber smiled and continued to make his way down the hill. He was never seen or heard from again, but Astrid never gave up hope that he found Hiccup.

After that anyone that said anything about Hiccup, even just said his name or stood up to Stoick about his obsession about the dragon's nest was either exiled or killed. Berk has lost so many Vikings due to Stoick's continuous hunt for the dragon's nest, so far with no success. We weren't even close to finding it but Stoick refused to give up. Instead of a bustling and happy Viking community, Berk had become a group of depressed, scared, sorry excuse for Vikings.

Ever since that day when Hiccup disappeared, every morning just before sunrise Astrd would go and stand on the cliff and stare out at the horizon. Every day she would hope to see him flying back, back to his home, back to her. She hoped that he would come and make Berk how it as before he left. But every morning he would never come. At first it was just Astrid, but after a while Fishlegs just started showing up on that same cliff top. They never said anything to each other but they both knew why they were there. After Fishlegs the twins started showing up as well, then eventually Snotlout. Every morning just before sunrise they would meet up on the same cliff and watch the sun rise and hope that they would see him, but he never came. Astrid would always be the last one standing up there, not wanting to give up hope. After some more time She would head back to the village and do whatever she could do to fill up the time until tomorrow mornings sunrise and hope that that sun rise would be different.

Life steadily got harder for everyone on Berk in the years following the 'incident'. Because of Stoick's pointless hunts there weren't as many Viking left to defend the village from the dragon raids, which meant that the dragon's got away with a lot of life stock. Winters were harsh and food in short supply, it was a good thing that Viking's were tough otherwise they never would have made it through the hard times.

Things weren't going to good for Astrid personally either. Her mother would constantly ask where she went in the morning, to which she would always reply, "To think." But every morning when she would get back from the cliff her mother would ask her again and again. Ever since Astrid's father never returned from one of Stoick's hunts it had been hard for them. They hadn't had as much money and food coming in as they would have liked, so as her mother would put it, "it's down to you to do the responsible thing." She was desperately trying to get Astird married to Snotlout, she kept saying, "your 20 years old and you aren't getting any younger." Snotlout's father was Stoick's brother which made him a very respected Viking, from one of the high warrior families, which meant that if Astrid married him, they would be set for life. After Hiccup left; Astrid, the twins, Fishlegs and Snotlout all became really close, but they all saw each other brothers and sisters. So even though Astrid liked Snotlout, she could never bring herself to marry him. Astrid knew that only one person would ever hold her heart and she hadn't seen him in nearly six years.

xXx

"Hiccup, wait up your going too fast for us." Jack screamed at Hiccup from somewhere behind them.

"No, you're going to slow for me." Hiccup shouted back to his friends.

"Hiccup slow down, you know what the wind does to my hair."

"Relax Lizzy, I doubt anyone cares what your hair looks like."

"But you never know, Hiccup." Lizzy replied as she tied her hair up to keep it out of her face.

"Anyway, you still haven't told us where we're going and after that last island it better be somewhere a bit colder." Matt shouted to Hiccup.

"Don't worry Matt, you won't be complaining about the heat where were going. And you're going to have to wait and see. Now come on I want to get there before sunrise. Let's GO!" Hiccup shouted urging Toothless to go faster.

"Calm down Hiccup, you know Whiplash, Precious and Chaka aren't as fast as Toothless." Jack shouted, but to no avail.

"Well then, you'll just have to try and catch up. Let's go Toothless" And with that Hiccup zoomed through the clouds towards towards the place he used to call home.


	3. I'm Home

Hiccup circled around Berk for awhile, safe under the cover of darkness. He looked down on the place he once called home. With his new eyes, Berk looked so different. Hiccup had learned of his new ability from the elders of matt's tribe. Matt came from a tribe that worshiped dragons but had never been able to tame one. When Hiccup told them about his experience with dragons, the first thing they asked was, "What do you see?" They explained that in their stories of dragon riders, when a person 'bonds' with a dragon like Hiccup had with Toothless they will get to see the world through their dragons eyes. They said it was like being reborn, seeing everything for the first time. After weeks of trying Hiccup was about to write off the ability as myth, when one day he opened his eyes, and there it was. It was like throughout his whole life he had been looking at the world through frosted glass but then the glass was removed and everything was clearer, brighter and more beautiful than ever.

When Hiccup looked down at Berk it looked like they were still clearing up from a recent dragon raid, parts of houses were missing, there was blood everywhere and the smell of fire was still lingering in the air. People were still milling around trying to rebuild and clear way any debris. However, something struck Hiccup as wrong, he noticed that there were a lot of Viking missing; from his position in the sky it looked like at least half the tribe was missing. Hiccup reasoned that they were probably off on another hunt for the dragon's nest, which they would never find. Hiccup realised he would have to leave soon as day break was approaching. He was just about to leave when he noticed someone trying to creep away from the village without anyone noticing. He couldn't see who it was because they were hidden by the trees, but when they came out from beneath the trees, he couldn't believe his improved eyes. It was her…Astrid, she was still as beautiful as the day he left. Hiccup just watched her as she continued walking up to the cliff top. Suddenly she stopped and looked right up at the sky. Hiccup thought he had been spotted until he realised she would never be able to see him under the cover of darkness and even if she could she wouldn't be able to recognise him. Hiccup told Toothless to remain perfectly still. She carried on looking up for awhile, but eventually resumed walking.

"Oh thank Oden" Hiccup sighed. He followed her while she walked up to the cliff.

"Where is she going?" Hiccup thought. When she got to the top she simply just sat down on looked to the east, where the sun would be rising in a matter of minutes. Hiccup was about to leave before he saw four more figures approach the cliff, he focused on them and recognised them as Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout. Like Astrid they simply walked up to the cliff top and watched the horizon.

Toothless growled softly to get Hiccup's attention and nodded to the sun that was just starting to peak over the horizon.

"Yeah your right we should get going before the sun rises." Hiccup said steering Toothless away.

They landed in the cove where Hiccup and Toothless had first met.

"So, you happy to be home?" Toothless did one of his famous toothless smiles and jumped on Hiccup, being very careful not to hurt him. Hiccup knew that Toothless was remembering when they had first met and began their friendship.

"Yeah I know what you mean, good times 'ay" Hiccup laughed petting Toothless' head.

"Oh we're sorry, would you like us to leave so you two can have so private time."

"Very funny Jack, come on get off me." Toothless begrudgingly got off Hiccup and went to go stand with Precious, Chaka and Whiplash while the riders unloaded the supplies off their backs, before going to rest after their long flight.

Precious was Lizzy's dragon. Precious was a Purple Luster dragon that in Lizzy's Country, a land called Albion, they were known for being the most selfish dragons in existence. They were incredibly vain, preferring to preen themselves rather than actually attack people. Precious was an outcast of among her kind, because she developed a bond with Lizzy. Lizzy of course chose the name, she said it was because that she was the most precious thing in her life and she would do anything for her just like Precious would do anything for Lizzy.

Chaka is Matt's dragon. Chaka is a Golden Eye Dragon, they are worshipped by Matt's tribe and legend says that a Golden Eye Dragon won't bond with anyone they don't deem worthy. For a Golden eye dragon to deem someone worthy is the highest accomplishment to Matt's tribe. Chaka in Matt's native tongue means great warrior and loyal friend. Matt and Chaka are from a place called Kenya.

Lastly there's Jack and Whiplash. Jack was like Hiccup, he was raised to hate dragons because they used to attack his village. Until he found out that his village was secretly finding and killing dragons and selling their body parts. That was why the dragons were attacking his village. He ran away and that's when he met up with Hiccup and Matt, once Jack told them what was going on they couldn't let it carry on. Hiccup and Matt followed Jack back to his village to help the dragons. That's when Jack rescued Whiplash from being killed for his exotic coloured scales. Ever since then Whiplash wouldn't stop following Jack, so Hiccup taught him how to train a dragon and they've been inseparable ever since.

"So you ready to tell us where we are? And why we're here?" Matt questioned.

"Well… this is my home and-" Hiccup began.

"Oh so this is the mysterious Berk, I can't wait for you to show me around and I want to meet all your family and friends as well." Lizzy squealed.

"Well you see I… well…. It's kinda…." Hiccup stuttered, "My Family and friends sort of hate me."

"What? How could anyone hate you, you're like the nicest person I know." Matt questioned.

"Well when I left with Toothless, I kind of betrayed everything they believed in and stood for, so if I show my face there they will probably kill me on sight. So we should keep our distance for awhile, until I think of a plan."

"But then why are we here?" Jack asked.

"Well I went and had a look at the village and by the looks of it, they are still suffering from frequent dragon raids, so I wanted to help stop them, because even though they hate me, I still love them." Hiccup finished.

"Okay then we'll do whatever we can to help… Now who's hungry? Hiccup what is there to eat around here?" Jack said, never one for serious moments.

"Well there's fish or there's fish or there's…. eels" All the dragons jumped up and bared their teeth.

"Don't scare Precious Hiccup; you know how upset she gets." Lizzy scolded.

"I'm sorry but it's so funny to think of the almighty dragons being scared of something as lousy as eels" Hiccup laughed. The dragons realizing there were no eels about, went back to napping.

"Come on you guys let's let the dragons rest and we'll go find the food, there's a lake not too far where there's some great fish."

"Hiccup, if we're having fish will you gut mine for me, you now it grosses me out. Please, pretty please" Lizzy squealed.

"Really Lizzy? I bet you couldn't do anything without Hiccups help." No one even saw Lizzy reach for her belt before a very sharp throwing knife skimmed past Jack's face and embed itself into a tree right next to his head.

"I don't need Hiccup's help to kill you while you sleep do I now" Lizzy said while she angrily pulled the knife out the tree. "And besides you know I was raised to have other people to do these kinds of jobs for me and you know what they say 'old habits die hard.' Now if you are done I'm hungry. Come on Hiccup" She grabbed Hiccup's hand and started running towards the lake.

-x-

"Poor clueless Hiccup," Matt said "He has no idea how much she likes him. And it's a pity she doesn't see how much you like her, don't you agree?"

"Yeah. Wait…. Me like Lizzy… that's just…. She's like… It's not true. I bet you're just making up stuff because you like her so much? Huh I bet I'm right." Jack said accusingly.

"No Lizzy's not my type; she's too short for me." Matt replied calmly.

"That's because you freakishly tall."

"And," Matt continued as if he hadn't been interrupted "I like my girls to have a bit more fire in them, you know, someone I can really argue with."

"You are so weird." Jack laughed.

"Says the guy who likes miss precious little princess." Matt teased.

"I don't like her! Stop saying I do."

"Deny it all you want, I know the truth"

"Come on you two before Lizzy eats all the fish."

"Why you…." Lizzy playfully jumps on Hiccups back and tries to wrestle him to the ground.

"How come when I insult her she throws a knife at my face, when Hiccup does it she laughs it off?" Jack questioned.

"Well in Lizzy's words 'because of his beautiful green eyes.'" Matt replied in a really bad imitation of Lizzy's voice.

"Oh shut it, come on,"

They ran up to catch up with Lizzy and Hiccup who were now play wrestling on the floor. "Get a room you two, so the rest of us don't vomit." Jack said walking straight past them.

Hiccup got up off the floor and whispered to Matt, "What's his problem? Is he okay?" Hiccup asked concern in his voice.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Now come on let's eat." Matt replied.

-x-

"I have to say Hiccup, that if the best fish I have ever had." Jack said rubbing his belly.

"On behalf of my island, I thank you." Hiccup joked. They were now back at the gorge after finishing all the fish they had caught. It took them three hours to catch enough fish for four dragons and themselves.

"Well I think we should have a bit of a work out, to work off all the fish we just ate, Hiccup you in?" Matt said.

"Absolutely! Sorry Lizzy, but I need to get up." Hiccup said to Lizzy who was currently using his lap as a pillow.

"Ugh, but I'm so comfy." She replied.

"God Lizzy give the guy some space." Hiccup made a mental note to ask Jack what was bothering him.

"Knock him dead Hiccup." Lizzy said as she got off Hiccup and went to go and lie with precious.

"Hey Jack, you feel like a work out?" Hiccup asked.

"No, I think Whiplash and I will do a bit of exploring, and don't worry we'll stay away from the village. See you in a bit." Jack climbed on to Whiplashes custom made saddle and disappeared into the trees.

"So you ready" Matt smiled as he took his great sword off his back and got into a fighting stance.

"You know it." Hiccup said as he took the twin swords from behind his back, and got into a fighting stance.

-x-

Hiccup collapsed onto the ground, absolutely wrecked from his work out with Matt. Matt collapsed onto the ground next to him. They were both panting, muddy and drenched in sweat, yet both had massive smiles on their faces.

"That was good, but definitely not your best. If you want to get better you can't hold back just because I'm your friend." Matt commented

"I know buts it's hard to put all your power in to fighting your friends. But come on I did well defeating those seven dragon hunters by myself while you, Jack and Lizzy were buying new clothes at that funny village where they ate frogs. Anyway I think I'm prepared enough for the next fight." Hiccup laughed.

"Fair point." Matt conceded. Lizzy realizing that they had finished walked over to us.

"Hiccup you stink; you need a bath." Lizzy pulled Hiccup up by the arm and started dragging Hiccup to a secluded part of the lake.

"Lizzy I can take a bath by myself, so you can just stay here while I go."

"Ok, but call if you need me." The smile on her face faltered a bit.

"Um sure." Hiccup said, slightly confused.

Lizzy went back to Matt telling him that he also stank and needed to bathe, before going back to lying down with precious. Hiccup dived into the lake and just relaxed as the water washed away all the mud and sweat off his body. As he lay there, his thoughts couldn't help but wonder to Astrid. She hadn't aged a day since the last time he saw her nearly six years ago, except now she was taller and broader but no less beautiful. Her hair was still bright blond that shinned in the sun. She still carried herself as if she could do anything no matter how big the challenged. But one thing that had changed about her was her eyes, the look in her eyes where as if she was waiting for something to happen, like the spark in her eyes wouldn't return until she found what she was looking for. Hiccup knew he had to see her soon. Knowing that she was so nearby and being unable to go and see her was killing him inside. He had to think of a plan soon before he went crazy with longing.

Hiccup was just getting redressed after finishing bathing when I felt a tingling sensation in the back of my head; I dived sideways just as Toothless pounced on the spot I was just sitting. Hiccup was about the laugh at Toothless' attempt to surprise him when the dragon quickly recovered and pounced on the distracted Hiccup.

"Toothless haha…. Haha get off me …. Toothless…" Toothless got off and smiled smugly at managing to pounce on his rider.

"Come on Toothless let's go find Jack and then we'll discuss what our next move is." Just as Toothless and Hiccup went out into the open area, Hiccup was just about to climb on Toothless' back when Jack and Whiplash came flying through the trees.

"Hiccup, Hiccup. I found a dragon; she's badly injured and needs your help. Come on let's go."

Hiccup jumped on Toothless and flew after Jack, with Lizzy and Matt hot on his heels.

So what do you think?

Again a bit into the insight into my new characters but more will come.

Please Review


	4. Reunion

They landed in a small clearing, where a female Deadly Nadder lay writhing in pain on the grass. Her injury was clear, there was a large spear wedged about three centimeters right from her heart. It looked like the wound was still fresh no more than three days old. She must be very strong to have survived that long without help. When she spotted us she curled up on herself, which Hiccup could tell was putting more pressure on her wound.

"Shush…. It's okay, were here to help." Hiccup said softly as he approached the Nadder.

Hiccup took the twin swords from his back, the dragon immediately started hissing. "It's okay, look." He laid the swords down next to him then steadily advanced forward. Toothless advanced with him, which as usual calmed the dragon, dragons seemed to be more trusting of humans when they have another dragon standing by them.

"I can help you but I need to see your wound." The dragon stared at me, then at Matt, Jack and Lizzy, then finally the four dragons that stood by us. She seemed to realize that without their help she wouldn't survive much longer and having four dragons show such dedication to humans must have made her trust Hiccup more than she would ever usually trust a human, because ever so slowly she unwound herself to give Hiccup a better look at her wound. A good three inches of spear were stuck inside her ribcage. She must be in great pain; it's truly a miracle she has survived so long.

"Lizzy pass me the Willow. Quickly!" Hiccup ordered. Lizzy removed the jar of fresh willow that had be ground into a paste, and slowly started to advance towards Hiccup and the Nadder. The Nadder hissed as Lizzy slowly approached but made no move to stop her. She handed Hiccup the jar.

"Okay this will hurt" I said as I took a scoop of the paste out of the jar, "But it will make the pain go away, okay?"

The dragon made no attempt to move, so Hiccup applied the paste around the wounds entrance. As soon as the paste soaked into the wound the Nadder hollowed in pain before passing passed out.

"Matt, come on we don't have much time until she regains consciousness. We need to get her back to the cove where the rest of my supplies are and we need to remove the spear and wash out the wound. Come on! We have to hurry." Hiccup said frantically.

Toothless and Whiplash helped move the Deadly Nadder onto Chaka's back. Just as Hiccup was about to get onto Toothless's saddle, he heard noise's approaching fast. He used his dragon sight ability to see ahead, and saw that there was a group of Viking's heading right for us.

"Oh Thor no!" Hiccup groaned.

"You guys get going and I will lead them away from the cove. Now go!" Hiccup orders, sending the others away.

They took off towards the cove. Hiccup knew that the group would be at the cove in a matter of minutes. Out of the corner of his eyes Hiccup saw Toothless trying to hide himself in the bushes. "Toothless get going, if they see you they will kill you, know go!" Toothless whimpered and made no move to fly off.

"Toothless go, if they see you they'll know I'm here and that will put us all in danger, now go!" Hiccup pleaded.

Toothless looked longingly at Hiccup but then turned and disappeared into the trees. Hiccup knew that he had mere seconds until they reached the clearing. He picked up his swords from where he had laid them down, and slotted them back into place on his back. Even though he knew that there was a very real possibility that the Vikings would try and kill him, he couldn't help but feel excited. He was going to see everyone again, granted they wouldn't know who he was and they probably all hated him, but still he was happy to see them all again.

Hiccup pulled up his hood to cover his face and smiled to himself. "This is where the fun begins."

-x-

Astrid was returning from another disappointing morning on the cliff top. She passed Ruffnut and Tuffnut as they made their way down to the docks to do some fishing. She nodded her head in greeting and they did the same. Astrid felt really depressed today, more so than usual. She felt like she had missed something really big, something really important, but didn't know what and it had put her in a really foul mood. She carried on walking up the hill towards a tree that she could use to work out her frustrations on by repeatedly throwing her axe at it. She had almost reached the tree when a horn blew from down by the docks signaling that a ship had been sighted on the horizon.

"Ugh!" She huffed in annoyance and dragged her feet down to the docks where all the other Viking were standing. She counted three ships in all. As they got closer she could see that they were all flying Berks flag. They must be Stoick's hunting party returning.

"Oh Thor…"

"Just what we need…"

"Please Oden no…" Random Vikings shouted out. Of course everyone was upset, many Viking had family and friends on those ships, so you can imagine how upset they must be when six ships leave and only three come back.

The three ships docked and the Viking solemnly walked off. No one even bothered to ask how the hunt went, they all knew the answer. Stoick marched off the ship and stomped past everyone and carried on up the hill to his house. Out of the corner of her eye Astrid saw Snotlout next to his mother who was trying to hold back tears, but failing miserably. Snotlout stood with a cold expression on his face and looked out to the horizon. Astrid knew exactly what he was feeling; four years ago she was in the exact same position when her father never returned from one of Stoick hunts. She starred angrily at Stoick's retreating figure; soon someone would have to do something about Stoick, before he no longer had a tribe to lead. Astrid felt she should go and try and comfort Snotlout but she knew from experience that what he really doesn't want now is pity, so she left him alone. Now that his father was dead, Snotlout was next to succeed after Stoick. That was a heavy burden to bear, especially considering the state the tribe would be in when Stoick was done with it.

Astrid was heading back up the hill to resume what she was doing before the ships arrived, when she saw a Viking about eight or nine years old, she'd seen him around the village before but couldn't remember his name, sprinting out of the forest. He ran straight past Astrid and up to chieftains house, which everyone knew was a no go area if you valued your life, so whatever this kid knew it must have been important.

"Chief…. Chief, I saw something that I think you should know about." The young Viking shouted in a rush, banging repeatedly on the door.

"Hey kid," Astird shouted, "I wouldn't mess with the chief right know if I were you." He was usually in a foul mood after failed dragon hunts.

"Yeah I know but this is important."

Stoick opened his door, "What is it?!"

The kid now looked like his news wasn't that important, now that Stoick's huge frame was towering over the little boy.

"Sir…um…sir…I was….um walking…"

"Get on with it!"

"Well yeah and I saw this dragon, it was injured, so I was going to sneak up on it and finish it off," at this point the kid puffs his chest out, "but then these four other dragons showed up with these people sitting on them, and the dragons weren't attacking them! It was really weird, but then, one of the people got off the dragon and approached the injured dragon, it was a Nadder by the way, and started helping it and …. Well I thought you should know…" The kid trailed off.

"What did these people look like?" Stoick asked in a deathly calm voice.

"I don't know, they were all wearing hoods." The boy finished lamely.

"Men! Gather your weapons, and you kid show me exactly where this dragon was."

People around immediately started gathering their weapons and gossiping about these mysterious dragon helpers.

Astrod felt a spring of hope surface from deep within her, maybe…. Just maybe….. No, she won't get her hopes up only to have them dashed away. But she knew for certain that she wasn't missing this.

Astrid grabbed her battle axe from her back and joined the group of Viking that were making their way through the forest. She moved her way through the Vikings until she was at the front of the group.

"It's just a little more this way" the kid said.

As they made their way through the last line of trees, they burst into the clearing and were so surprised by the sight they were meet with, that they all stopped dead in their tracks.

Stood in the middle of the clearing was just a single man. He was tall and very muscular, but his face was hidden by a hood. He stood confidently, like he could take on all of the Vikings in front of him and not even break a sweat, but for some reason this man made Astrid feel something that she hadn't felt in years, just the aura he exerted made me feel calm.

It couldn't be him?... Could it?

-x-

The clearing went deadly silent as no one was sure what was going on, finally Stoick decided the silence had gone on long enough.

"Who are you?" Stoick demanded.

"No one, just a humble traveler." Hiccup replied.

"He's lying, he's the one that was trying to help the dragon." The little boy shouted.

Hiccup saw Astrid stand in front of the kid and shoved him backward behind some of the other Vikings. Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs had also managed to work their way to the front of the group. Hiccup looked over at them; they all looked just the same. It was weird to think that they were all the same yet he was so much different from the last time he saw them.

"Is this true? Were you trying to help a dragon?" Stoick spat the last word out as if the word itself was repulsive. Hiccup flinched at his father's tone of voice. What had happened to him? He had never liked dragons, but Hiccup had never hated them as much as he did now.

"Well you see…." Stoick didn't even let Hiccup finish his sentence before he gave the signal for the five men on his right to attack Hiccup.

In a flash Hiccup had pulled out the twin swords from his back and quickly dispatched the five men, without drawing a single drop of blood. The five men lay unconscious at the floor in front of them.

Astrid physically felt her hopes plummet. There was no way Hiccup could fight like, she wasn't even sure she could fight like that. Whoever this mystery man was, he wasn't Hiccup.

"Well that was rather rude of you." Hiccup said.

"Here we do not tolerate dragons, so we don't tolerate dragon sympathizers, now tell us where the rest of your associates are and the dragons with them. Now!" Stoick shouted.

"Well I might tell you…but you'll have to catch me first." With that Hiccup started running in the opposite direction of the cove. The Vikings immediately started chasing Hiccup. He was so busy concentrating on how much farther he should run before they were far enough away from the cove that he didn't notice the shape moving along side him, until it was too late. Before Hiccup knew what had happened he was lying on the ground with a very triumphant looking Astrid sat atop him.

"Astrid plea-" Hiccup tried to plead.

"How do you know my name?" Astrid asked confused.

"I don't really have time for this; if they catch me they will kill me!"

"And why should I ca…." Astrid trailed off.

Sometime during the Hiccup's frantic head turning, to try and find a way out of the situation, his hood had slipped back a bit, not enough to reveal his whole face, but just enough to see a familiar scar on his chin. Astrid immediately recognised that scar, the scar she had been picturing on a face for the last six years.

"Hiccup…."

Hiccup took advantage of Astrid's momentarily distraction to roll over so he was leaning over Astrid. There were so many things he wanted to say but didn't have time to say them. So he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and jumped up to his feet and carried on running.

"Astrid are you alright?... Astrid?"

Astrid vaguely registered Ruffnut next to her, but all she could think was its him, he's back. For the first time in six years she felt whole, complete, happy.

"He must have done something too her, quick we can't let him get away." A random Viking said, Astrid was too dazed to say anything. The Vikings all started to carry on chasing Hiccup. Astid felt Ruffnut start to pull away but she quickly pulled Ruffnut towards her and managed to choke out.

"It's him" She said as a smile broke out across her face.

Because of what happened with Astrid, Hiccup had completely lost sense of what direction he was going in. As a result Hiccup burst through a layer of trees to find nothing but a cliff with a very, very steep drop into some very mean looking waves. Hiccup was just about to turn back and start running in another direction when the group of Viking burst through the last layer of trees, to find him standing with nowhere to run.

"Listen boy," Stoick shouted, "It was foolish of you to come here, and now you will pay for that mistake with your life. And then I will find any other dragon sympathizers even if I have to search every inch of my island for them and you will all be reunited in hel!"

Hiccup was franticly searching for a way out of this situation, he had come too far, accomplish so much, just to be killed by his own family now. As Hiccup was looking around he caught a glimpse of something moving in the bushes.

"When will he ever listen." Hiccup thought.

"Stoick, I hope one day soon you'll realise that all I want to do is help you." Hiccup said. Just as he turned around to face the cliff, Hiccup caught sight of Astrid shoving her way to the front of the Viking. Hiccup started running and before he knew it he was falling. But not for long, just as he predicted Toothless had also jumped just before him so that Hiccup would land securely on his saddle, before shadowing himself to blend in with the rock. Hiccup turned to look behind him to see if any of them had seen Toothless, but they were all staring down at the waters below.

"Thanks for not listening to me bud." Hiccup patted the side of Toothless' neck. "But let's move it, I don't now long that Nadder will survive."

'No he couldn't have just done that.' Astrid thought, 'He couldn't just leave and then come back after all this time, only to just leave again. He wouldn't do that to me.'

Astrid sank to her knees in front of everyone; Ruffnut also knowing who that was did the same. Everyone must have assumed that they were just upset that the traitor had got away, because no one questioned their odd behavior.

The other Vikings all started to making their way back to the village muttering about 'taking the cowards way out' and 'what a traitorous human.' Astrid felt Ruffnut stand up next to her and tug on her shoulders, "Come on let's head back."

"No, I'm going to stay here for a bit. I'll see you back at the village." Astrid said, Ruffnut just sighed but left her alone. After every one had left, Astrid stayed kneeling on the floor looking down at the harsh sea below. 'No one could have survived that fall. And every though Hiccup was never a Viking, he wasn't a coward. He'd never take his own life, just because he was scared of what the Viking might do to him, that just wasn't Hiccup.' Astrid thought. He was alive she decided. She didn't know how, but she knew he was. Now if she were Hiccup and she was trying hide with at least 5 dragons where would she go?

"The cove!"

-x-

Toothless and Hiccup made it back to the gorge in record time. He immediately jumped off Toothless and made his way over to the Deadly Nadder, she looked worst than when he left her. She was still unconscious, but her breathing was a lot shallower and he legs and arms kept twitching meaning that she was still in pain. But at least Matt, Jack and Lizzy had managed to remove the spear and stitch up the wound.

"How she doing?" Hiccup asked Matt.

"Not good, we managed to remove the spear and stitch up the wound, but I think she's just lost the will to go on." Matt replied sadly.

"It's such a shame, if we had just gotten there sooner…" Jack trailed off.

Hiccup stared down at the Nadder, he couldn't believe she had made it this far and was going to give up now. Lizzy ran up to Hiccup and hugged him tightly, "It's my fault she isn't getting better isn't it? My stitching isn't as good as yours, but I had to do it, you were gone so long and when we removed the spear she started losing a lot of blood and I tried my best I really did, but… but…"

"Calm down Lizzy, it's not your fault you did everything right, but know it's up to her to decide if she has the strength to pull through. Now just go and get cleaned up, I'll watch over her." Hiccup said. Lizzy nodded and started making her way to the water. But then they all heard a sound that made them all spin round, pulling out their weapons, to look at the edge of the cove.

"Hiccup?"


	5. Etana

They all simultaneously turned to face the direction of the voice, weapons poised at the ready. The first thought that came into Hiccup's head was, 'how did this person know who I was?' The scene he was met with was one that he had been rehearsing in his head for years. But unlike all the times he'd practiced this in his head, this time Astrid was surrounded by three very suspicious friends and four very over protective dragons. She stood with her battle axe raised high ready to strike if anybody made a move.

They all just stood there, in silence for a few moments. No one sure what to do. Hiccup finally came to his senses and straightened out of his fighting stance and slotted his twin swords back into their place on his back. Jack, Matt and Lizzy starred at him as if he was crazy but they also straightened out of their fighting stances but didn't put away their weapons. Astrid put her axe away and stood up straight.

"Hiccup…. Is it really you?" She whispered, Hiccup smiled beneath his hood and took several steps forward until he was standing about arms length away and reached up and pushed his hood down to reveal his whole face. In the millions of times he had imagined this moment, he never could have predicted what happened next.

Astrid's hand started to reach out to touch him.

'It was him…it was really him. Please Oden let this not be a dream' Astrid thought as she stretched out her hand to touch his face, the face she had thought about every day for six years.

Her hand had many causes on it Hiccup noticed, probably from years of wielding an axe. But as her hand slowly moved up and down along Hiccup's cheek, nothing could have felt softer.

His skin was still as soft as the day he left except, his face was no longer riddled with freckles. But Astrid could tell from the lines on his face that he had been in his fair share of battles. Now that she knew it was him, there was something she had to do.

Hiccup never even saw it coming, her fist landed square in his jaw with enough power to make me stagger back a few steps. Now that was going to leave a mark. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Matt, Jack and Lizzy's jaw drop, it's not often people can manage to land a punch on Hiccup.

"That's for leaving me!" Astrid shouted.

'Oh my Oden, I've wanted to do that for years.' Astrid thought, she never thought something would ever feel so good. Just that simple action had made her feel more alive than she had in years.

"And this is for coming back" Astrid said. With that Astrid grabbed the front of Hiccup's shirt and pulled him roughly towards her and planted her lips forcefully on his. This kiss was so powerful that Hiccup was sure his lips were going to be bruised for days, but for the love of Thor, he didn't care. His lips pushed back on hers with just as much force. Her hands reached up to grab the sides of his face to pull me even closer to her, and his reached out and wrapped themselves around her waist, holding her tight. Six years they'd been waiting for this, and Oden it was worth it.

Astrid kissed him even more passionately hoping that through the kiss he would realize what he meant to her, how much she'd missed him and how she was never going to let him leave me. She'd die before she would separate herself from him. And She knew he felt the same. They were going to finally be together, and nothing would stop them.

"Excuse me!" Lizzy shouted from behind them. Hiccup had been so caught up in Astrid that he forgot that there were other people here. He broke apart from Astrid and leaned his forehead against hers. Hiccup smiled sheepishly at her and then slowly turned to look at five very confused faces, one happy face and one very, very angry face. Toothless smiled encouragingly at Hiccup and bobbed his head in Astrid's direction. Precious, Chaka, Whiplash, Jack and Matt still hadn't picked their mouths up of the floor, but Lizzy face showed pure unadulterated rage, Hiccup didn't get why she was so angry.

"What is going on Hiccup. She's a Viking!" Lizzy said, in a disgusted tone.

"What did you just say to me?" Astrid replied in an angry tone.

"Ok everyone just relax. Everyone this is Astrid, Astrid this is Lizzy, Matt, Jack, Precious, Whiplash, Chaka and of course you know Toothless."

Toothless jumped over everyone and started prodding Astrid with his nose in an affectionate way. If Matt, Jack and Lizzy weren't confused before they definitely were now. They all knew that Toothless was very protective of Hiccup, it had taken months for Toothless to trust any of them, but yet here he was getting cozy with someone, as far as they knew, he had ever met. If Hiccup was in their shoes, he'd be really confused too. This was going to take some explaining.

A few minutes later they were all sitting around the camp fire, after Hiccup had convinced Matt, Jack and Lizzy to put away their weapons and for Toothless to convince Chaka, Precious and Whiplash that Astrid was no threat to their riders. As Hiccup was about to sit down Lizzy called him and patted the space on the log next to her indicating for him to sit next to her. As he made his way over to her Astrid roughly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to sit on the log next to her, furthest away from Lizzy. As Hiccup sat down Astrid entwined her hand in his and put her head on his shoulder and shot Lizzy a triumphant look, which he made and mental note to ask her about later. Hiccup just smiled and planted a kiss on top of her head.

"Ok Hiccup would you care to tell us about this…eh….situation. Who is she?" Matt asked.

"Well Astrid is kinda like… well she's… You see she's….. An old friend" Hiccup stuttered out.

"Just a friend?" Astrid smiled. Hiccup had to fight the blush that was threatening to cover his cheeks.

"Well before I left, Astrid found out about me and Toothless and she was going to tell the village, so obviously I had to stop her. So me and Toothless grabbed her and dropped her on a hundred foot tree and refused to let her down until she let me explain. She reluctantly climbed on Toothless. Toothless at first didn't quite take a shine to Astrid," At this Astrid and Toothless started laughing. "Well after some very erratic flying and a lot of screaming from a certain someone," Hiccup smiled as Astrid lightly punched his arm. "Everything kind of just sorted itself out, Toothless started to settle down and Astrid finally opened her eyes and we went for a nice peaceful ride through the clouds. Astrid finally understood what I was trying to tell her about dragons." Hiccup looked down at Astrid's face and saw the smile on her face turn sad, she knew all too well what happened next. "The next day was the day of my final exam, where I had to kill a Monstrous Nightmare. I tried to show the tribe the truth about dragons, but they wouldn't listen. They scared the Nightmare, so that it started attacking me, if Toothless hadn't showed up I would probably be dead. After that I had a choice to make, either stay and let them kill Toothless and probably me as well or leave. I guess you know which one I decided on." Hiccup finished.

Everyone was silent as they took in my words. Astrid wrapped her arms around Hiccup's waist and pulled him into a kiss. Hiccup kissed her back softly hoping she'd somehow realize how much he'd missed her over the past six years. He brought his hand up to gently caress her hair. Hiccup vaguely heard a lot of coughing and clearing of throats, but decided to ignore it in favor of kissing Astrid. They realized that Hiccup and Astrid weren't going to stop as Hiccup heard someone jump up and storm off and everyone else walk off to give them some alone time. As Hiccup carried on kissing Astrid he couldn't help the feeling that someone was watching him. He cracked open one eye and peered around, his eye locked on to a pair of acidic green eyes. Toothless hadn't moved from his spot that he was sitting at earlier and was watching Hiccup and Astrid with a confused look on his face. Hiccup brought his other hand up and wafted it at him indicating for him to leave, but he just cocked his head to the side. Hiccup was about to laugh at his naïve innocence and was just about to pull away when Hiccup noticed Jack walk over to Toothless and indicate that Hiccup and Astrid needed to be alone. Toothless still didn't understand but followed Jack away. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh so he pulled away from Astrid. He looked over her face, her eyes remained closed and a soft smile spread across her lips.

"I missed you so much." Hiccup said to her and leaned his forehead on hers.

"I missed you to; Berk just wasn't the same without all your little accidents happening." She laughed.

"How is Berk now? How are you doing? Are the twins doing okay? Has Snotlout finally given up on you? Has Fishlegs stopped talking about dragons all the time? Has-" The questions flew out of Hiccups mouth until Astrid cut him off.

"Calm down Hiccup, Berk is doing fine, I'm doing fine. Ruff and Tuff still argue every chance they get. Yes, Snotlout has given up on me and is now currently dating that Laufeia and Fishlegs does still talk about dragons a lot but is now capable of talking about other things as well." Astrid listed off the answers.

"What about Stoick? He seemed….different earlier." Hiccup said hesitantly.

The smile on Astrid's face disappeared, she opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out. Hiccup could tell there was something she wasn't ready to talk about, so he let it go for now.

"Wait a minute, who's Laufeia?" Hiccup asked.

"You really don't remember her, she's two years older than us. She was the one that started 'everyone pelt Hiccup with a snowball' day when we were 8." Hiccup vaguely remembered that every Saturday in winter everyone would throw snowballs at him, but he still didn't remember who the girl was that supposedly started it.

"When did she and Snotlout get together?" Hiccup wondered aloud.

"Well they kind of got together about two years ago when her betrothed never returned from a dragon nest hunt. She was engaged to your second cousin ZigZag. Well after about 20 seconds of mourning, she started showing an interest in Snotlout. At the beginning he still remained devoted to me. But one day he just stopped stalking me and started stalking her, when I asked him about it, he just said she offered him something he couldn't refuse. What ever it was, I didn't want to know so I never asked him again."

Hiccup could tell this was another subject she didn't particularly want to discuss. Hiccup was about to start talking about something else before Astrid spoke up.

"Enough about Berk come on tell me what's been happening to you over the last six years." Astrid asked eagerly.

"Well so much has happened, most of it has been good. I've had a lot of fun, but there have been some bad times." Hiccup trailed off, a pained expression crossed his face before he shook it off. "But let's talk about it another time, because I could think of something more interesting we could be doing" Hiccup said as he lowered my lips on to hers.

"Mmm… A lot more interesting" She teased.

-x-

After Jack guided Toothless away from Hiccup and his new lady he made his way over to Whiplash but saw that he was sleeping and didn't want to wake him.

Jack decided to go and annoy Matt instead. Jack walked over to Matt as he sharpening his sword.

"Hey, I'm bored entertain me" Jack said with a smirk on my face.

"Go play with Whiplash, I'm busy." He replied not even taking his eyes off his sword.

"I can't, he's sleeping and besides it's funnier trying to annoy you." Jack laugh nudging Matt's sword so the sword missed the whetstone.

"Why don't you be useful for a change," Matt said with a huff, "and go see if Lizzy's okay."

"No, that's usually your job to do stuff like that, you know go and comfort people or whatever." Jack said as he awkwardly kicked the ground.

"I think Lizzy would appreciate it more if you went, and we both know that you want to be the one that comforts her so you'll look like the big hero, and don't try and deny it. Now go before I am forced to make you." Matt threatened, but with a smile on his face.

"Fine I'll go but not because I'm scared of you, or because I like her. I'll do it because I'm a good friend. Unlike someone." Jack eventually said, turning his back to Matt. Jack heard Matt laugh as he stomped off in the direction that Lizzy had taken. He walked for about 20 minutes following the tracks Lizzy hadn't bothered to cover before he reached a cliff where he found Lizzy perched on a rock staring out across the sea. Jack crouched down and silently made his way towards her. He was just about to surprise her from behind when she spoke up.

"I'm not in the mood for your idiocy Jack. Just leave me alone." Lizzy said, not moving her eyes from the sea.

"Agh, how'd you know it was me?" Jack said, sitting down next to her.

"I don't know, I just knew. But anyway you still haven't left." Lizzy said inching away from him on the rock they now shared.

"If I come back without you Matt will kill me, so I'm not leaving without you." Jack said in a irritatingly chipper voice. They both remained silent for a few moments, until Jack broke it.

"So Hiccup and what's her named…Astrid, who'd have known Hiccup was such a ladies' man, ay?" Jack said, nudging her shoulder with his own.

"Agh, are you trying to make me madder." Lizzy shouted, standing up and taking a few steps away from him. They collapsed back into silence, until Lizzy spoke up.

"I just don't get it. I mean what's she got that I haven't?" Lizzy asked, immediately regretting it.

"Maybe Hiccup's got a thing for blonds." Jack guessed. He watched as Lizzy subconsciously lifted her hand to stroke her gorgeous, shiny, silky brown hair.

"Yeah, but we've been together for nearly four years and he doesn't see me as anything more than a friend. He hasn't even seen this girl in like six years, but he immediately throws himself at her." Lizzy threw hers hands up in frustration.

"Maybe they just have that special connection the girls in my village used to talk about, what was it? Oh yeah soul mates." Seeing the blank look on Lizzy's face, Jack tried to explain. "They used to say that when we are born, we only have half a soul. And that some where there is a person with the other half. So soul mates."

"Oh please, you don't actually believe in that kind of rubbish. Love takes time to develop, you can't just look at someone and fall in love. That is ridiculous." Lizzy ranted.

"Ok, maybe it's just a childhood crush that he hasn't been able to get out of his system." Jack guessed.

"So your saying that I should make Hiccup realize that what he thinks he feel is just his childhood feeling, and that he should be with someone more mature, like me." Lizzy said smiling. That was not what Jack was saying at all, but then he saw the look of joy on her face he couldn't bring myself to upset her.

"Yeah. That's exactly what I said." Jack replied.

"Well come on then let's get back to camp." Lizzy grabbed his hand and started pulling him back towards camp. Jack tried to ignore the electric shock that traveled through him at her touch. Lizzy stopped dead and looked down at their hands. 'Could she have felt it too?' Jack thought. But then she shrugged and carried on pulling him towards camp. Jack tried to make sure that the look of disappointment was whipped of his face by the time we got back.

-x-

Astrid and Hiccup had just pulled apart for air when he saw Jack and Lizzy coming out the forest together, holding hands. He smiled at the two of them, he'd had a feeling that there was something going on between them. When Lizzy spotted him and Astrid an emotion that he couldn't quite put his finger on flashed across her face. She dropped Jacks hand and started making her way across to them. By the time she reached us she had a big smile plastered on her face.

"Hi, I'm sorry about early I was just a little confused. So now let me formally introduce myself, my name is Elizabeth Victoria Mary Williamson of Camalot, a pleasure to meet you." She finished off with a curtsy. Hiccup looked over at Astrid who stood with a look of shock across her face. Hiccup just laughed and nudged her slightly.

"Eh.. hi, I'm Astrid…Astrid Hoffson…" Astrid eventually managed to reply.

-x-

Astrid could tell from the way Lizzy was looking at her up and down that she was judging her with those hazel coloured eyes. She realized that Lizzy was trying to intimidate me with all her fancy language and manners. Astrid couldn't let Lizzy get the better of her.

"It's great to meet you, I must say I wasn't expecting this after the way you acted earlier, no offence but you acted like a girl who had just caught her betrothed with another woman. But that couldn't be right, could it?" Astrid said and smiled triumphantly at Lizzy. Lizzy had no idea who she was messing with. Lizzy just smiled and did an obviously fake laugh, but which Hiccup seem to buy.

"So you two new each other when you were little, so you're almost like brother and sister…ah isn't that cute, I bet you used to play together when you were babies." Lizzy said trying to keep a smile on her face; hopefully this would make Hiccup see that Astrid is more like family to him, instead of a girlfriend Lizzy thought.

-x-

Before Astrid could reply to Lizzy's rather old statement, a painful scream rang through the air. Hiccup whipped his head around to the direction it came from to see the Deadly Nadder from earlier screaming and thrashing her body around. Hiccup ran over to her with Lizzy and Astrid right behind him. Jack and Matt were already there trying to hold down the dragon's body, to try and prevent her from ripping out her stitches.

"Hiccup, Lizzy," Matt shouted above the screaming "Try and hold her legs down, until she stops moving."

Lizzy and Hiccup held down her legs but she continually tried to escape.

"Hiccup?" Hiccup heard from behind him, "Hiccup, what can I do to help?"

"Try and calm her down, but be careful if she feels threatened she will atta-" Hiccup couldn't finish his sentence as he had to us all his energy to try and hold the Nadder down.

-x-

Astrid slowly walked round to the dragon's head. Hiccup had told her what had happened to this dragon earlier, but she had no idea what she was supposed to do? What was she supposed to say?

"Erm…. Shush, shush. It's okay we are just trying to help." Astrid said softly.

The dragon just carried on screaming and didn't even acknowledge her presence. One thing that Astrid could just not put up with was, being ignored. She would not stand for it.

"Listen you over grown lizard!" Astrid shouted, which successfully got the dragon's attention. "You have gone through too much, survived all this time, and are still alive now and you are not going to throw it all away. So you are going to sit there like a nice little dragon and get better, so you can go out there and show everybody that nothing stops a dragon. Now do I make myself clear!" Astrid shouted. Everything was silent as Astrid and the Nadder stared at each other. She thought this stare down would go on forever, but then the dragon slowly nodded its head and let its body relax. "Good girl." Astrid said and patted its head. She was just about to walk away when she felt the dragon grab onto the back of her skirt. I Astrid looked back at the dragon and pulled her skirt away and carried on walking towards Hiccup. She heard the dragon whine behind her and she looked back to see it pleading at her with its eyes.

"I don't think she wants you to leave." Hiccup said as he came to stand next to her. Astrid looked back at the dragon, unsure of what she was supposed to do. "Come on." Hiccup said as he pulled her back towards the dragon. They sat down next to its head and Hiccup guided Astrid's hand to gently stroke across her neck, the dragon started purring and laid its head in her lap. Astrid was so memorized by the sound that she didn't even notice Toothless come over and start breathing fire around the Nadder. Astrid felt a sense of protectiveness to the Nadder and was just about to shout at Toothless before Hiccup laid his hand on her arm and said, "It's okay, he's just heating the ground around her to keep her warm." Toothless laid down next to the Nadder and draped a wing across her, as the cold of the night was fast approaching. Hiccup and Astrid just sat in silence listening to the sound of the dragons.

"You know; you're going to have to come up with a name for her." Hiccup eventually said.

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked confused.

"You don't realize do you, a dragon would never want to have someone by their side if they were injured, they think it makes them seem weak. So for her to ask…no beg you to stay with her means that she feels very comfortable around you, which usually takes months, believe me I went through it with Toothless. She has begun to bond."

"To bond, what's that?" Astrid asked.

"It's hard to explain. I'll get Matt to explain it to you later, he understands it more than I do. But it's kind of like you belong to each other, you now belong to her, just as she belongs to you. It really is indescribable, the feeling of being bonded to a dragon." Hiccup said, his gaze unconsciously drifting to Toothless.

"Bonded?" Astrid repeated to herself. Thinking about her and this dragon being bonded, it just felt so…right. Like it's supposed to happen.

"So do you have any names in mind?" Hiccup asked again. Astrid sat and thought for a moment, going through all the names she could think of in her head.

"Etana." She thought aloud.

"Etana…?" Hiccup repeated, "I like it, what's it mean?"

"It means a survivor of battle and strength of the heart." Thinking about it the name couldn't be more perfect. "She survived the raid, those three days with the spear in her chest and she had the strength to carry on even when all seemed lost, there isn't a more suitable name in the world. Etana." Astrid whispered, as she stroked the Nadder's head. Astrid looked over at Hiccup and saw that he was smiling. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing" Hiccup laughed, "I'm just remembering when I first met Toothless." Hiccup lay down on his back and stared up at the stars, with his hands folded behind his head. Astrid just smiled at him and decided to stay quiet and leave him alone with his memories. She laid down and rested my head on his chest and smiled to herself, this was finally real, she would never have be alone again, she would always have Hiccup and now Etana, her dragon.


	6. With You

Astrid woke up to the feeling of a bright light trying to gain entrance through her closed eye lids. She used her hand to block out the light and try and go back to sleep, until a thought occurred to her, where was the light coming from? The sun didn't shine into her bedroom until gone noon; she couldn't believe she would have slept in that late. Just then images flashed through her mind, being surrounded by hooded figures, calming a dragon and his face, Hiccup. She squeezed her eyes shut determined to not let morning take away such a perfect dream. Astrid would not lose him again, even if it was only a dream. Astrid resigned herself to just lie there forever with the memories of her dream, until she felt her bed move. Now that's odd, she thought. Her bed doesn't usually move, and then she heard it groan.

'I must still be sleeping.' She thought and tried to ignore the strangeness of the situation. She was just about ready to fall back asleep when she heard her bed talk.

"Good morning." It said in a tired voice, strange it sounded just like Hiccup from my dream, a very soft yet masculine voice. Again Astrid decided to try and sleep, and ignore the cruel trick her subconscious was playing on her.

"Astrid, come on I know you're awake." The voice said again.

Astrid's eyes shot open, this was too vivid to be a dream. Her eyes darted around checking out her surrounding. It was hard to tell where she was, but one thing was for sure she wasn't in her room. A lot of her view was obscured by the rhythmic rising and falling of someone's chest. If she didn't know any better she would be thinking that her dream was real and that Hiccup really did come back. But that couldn't be real, could it?

Ever so slowly Astrid raised her head up from the person's chest, and saw a messy head of brown hair. She looked down at this man's face and… it was him... It really was him. It wasn't a dream he really came back. Astrid couldn't hold back my excitement.

Hiccup knew Astrid was awake because he could feel her body twitching against against his own. Waking up that day had been the best morning of his life. When he woke up he wasn't uncomfortably hot which meant that Toothless hadn't come to sleep next to him, but there some source of heat that was draped over him. So he cracked open a eye and looked down to see a beautiful head of blond hair nestled on his chest, then everything from the previous day came back to him. He was back on Berk, and Astrid and him had been reunited. Sometimes life was just perfect. Now all he had to do was get the rest of Berk to greet him the same way, well actually not the exact same way that would be weird, and life would be easy.

Astrid didn't seem to want to get up, so Hiccup decided to go back to sleep. Just as he was drifting off, he felt Astrid literary attack him with her lips. After the shock wore off he started to kiss back. Definitely the best morning of his life.

'Oh my Thor, it was real. It was all real, he's back.' Astrid thought. The last six years had definitely been good to him. Astrid felt his strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her closer. Deciding that this position was getting slightly uncomfortable, Astrid decided to do something about it. She boldly threw her leg over Hiccup so that she was straddling him. At the feeling of their bodies pressed together Astrid couldn't help but moan.

Mornings were now officially Hiccup's favorite time of day. If he was to die right then, he would die a very happy man. Hiccup rolled over so that now he was hovering above Astrid so as not to squash her. He carried on kissing her and running his hands up and down her body.

"Hiccup."Astrid moaned in his ear, with only served to excite him more. He could feel Astrid's hands slowly gravitate towards his lower half. This moment felt absolutely perfect, but of course in true Hiccup fashion, something went wrong.

A thought occurred to Astrid while she was laying with Hiccups toned body above her, maybe they were moving a bit too fast. This was the first time she'd seen him in six years and he'd clearly changed, they'd both changes. As Hiccups' lips moved to her neck she gazed up at his face. He had definitely changed, he had a small scar that ran through his left eyebrow, and his face was worn as if it had seen a lifetimes worth of battles. As if he could feel her staring at him he brought his head up and gazed into her eyes. His pupils had swollen so much that his eyes were almost completely black with passion, but behind that she could see a darkness, a darkness that she didn't understand and that frightened her. They both starred at each other in silence trying to figure out how far the other wanted them to go. Astrid was just about to sit up and push Hiccup away when he smiled down at her. It was the same smile she remembered and he looked just like that awkward teenager she knew all those years ago. She knew then that he was still the same Hiccup, the Hiccup that showed her the amazing beasts that were dragons, the same Hiccup that showed her the skies and the same Hiccup that she fell in love with. She smiled back at him and reached a hand up to cup his face and bring his lips back down to hers. But of course just as this moment was about to get even better, something had to come and ruin it.

"Hey Hiccup, Astrid are you getting up soon ah…oh you're already up…um…it's okay you to just….um…come get breakfast when you're…. Um… finished. So… Um go back to what you were doing…I'll just go." With that Jack disappeared behind bushes that separated where Hiccup and Astrid from the rest of the cove.

Hiccup had never seen Jack look that embarrassed, the look on his face made him laugh uncontrollably that he had to roll off Astrid before his arms gave way. Hiccup would have continued laughing for a lot longer if Astrid hadn't punched him in the arm.

"Ow, what was that for?" He asked still a few stray giggles escaping his mouth.

"How can you laugh? That was so embarrassing!" Astrid said, throwing her hands up to cover her face and hide her blush.

"Oh relax, I'm sure Jack was even more embarrassed than you. And don't worry who's he going to tell apart from Matt and Lizzy and then what, so they know we love each other, what's the problem?" Hiccup said.

"I guess you're right, but- Wait did you say he's going to tell Lizzy?" Astrid suddenly asked.

"Yeah and probably Matt as well. Why are you smiling?" Hiccup asked, confused by her sudden change of mood.

"On no reason, come on let's get going I'm hungry." Astrid said. Hiccup stared at Astrid as she got up, she had a victorious look on her face which he didn't quite understand, but he decided to ignore it. He doubted he'll ever fully understand her, but then again that's what's going to make life interesting.

Hiccup noticed that Toothless and Etana were still sleeping, and decided that it would be best to leave them alone, they looked really cozy together. He was just about to walk around the bushes when Astrid grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her and planted her lips on his in a very forceful and possessive manner. The kiss was over just as quick as it started. Hiccup felt Astrid reach up on her tiptoes so her lips were inches from his ear.

"A reminder…" She whispered in his ear. She was pulling him towards the others before he could ask her to elaborate. As we approached Hiccup could still see the faint blush on Jack's cheeks. It nearly sent him into another fit of giggles. We sat down around the fire wear Matt was roasting a wild boar. He must have got up really early to catch it. Hiccup felt a bit guilty because Matt and him usually go hunting together, but as he caught Matt's eyes he gave me an encouraging smile so Hiccup knew he didn't hold any bad feeling. It's only then Hiccup noticed that it was dead silent apart from the crackling of the fire, which was really unusual because usually you couldn't get a world in edge ways. Hiccup guessed it was to be expected, because none of them knew Astrid so it would take them a while to get used to her. The silence seemed to be going on forever until Hiccup decided to break it.

"So I guess every one has figured out what's happening between Astrid and the Deadly Nadder, which she has named Etana. Matt, I was hoping that you could explain it all to Astrid." Hiccup said

"Of course. Matt replied. "Where to start…" Everyone went silent as Matt pondered on what to say.

"Anyone can tame and rider a dragon, but there are only a few people in the world that a dragon would deem worthy enough to bond with. When a dragon and rider bond, their hearts beat as one, their souls feel as one, their minds think as one and they live as one being. Two halves of one whole." Matt clasped his hands together as if to emphaise his point. "Once the rider and dragon have bonded, the dragon will serve only their rider and no one else on the entire planet. From that point onwards, you live not only for yourself but for your dragon as well." Silence descended over the group as everyone let Astrid soak in the words.

"What do you mean live for your dragon?" Astrid asked eventually. Hiccup couldn't help but glance over at where Toothless lay with the other dragons.

"A rider will live on if their dragon is killed. But if a rider dies…" Matt trailed off, a painful expression crossed his face as if the words he was saying caused his pain. "Then so does their dragon." Every one grew silent as the weight of Matt's words weighed down on their minds. Jack, always having to be the comedian, tried to lighten the mood.

"Come on guys you know the rules, no depressing atmospheres until after noon. Otherwise it will make your face sag." Everyone burst out laughing, which successfully removed the depressing and tense atmosphere.

"So Astrid," Lizzy began in an overly happy voice. "When will you be heading back to Berk?"

"Oh Thor yeah, everyone will be wondering where I disappeared to last night and why I didn't come home, oh and everyone while be wondering why I wasn't at the cliff this morning. What time is it now?"

Astrid asked. Hiccup looked up at the position of the sun. "It's nearly 10, and what do you mean, at the cliff?"

"I'll tell you later, but right now I have to get back before they send out a search party." Astrid stood up and walked over to where she had left her things the previous night. Hiccup got up and followed her over. She picked up her axe and just before she slotted it into its place on her back Hiccup placed his hand on its handle to stop her.

"This axe is new." He said as he slide his fingers along its sharp edge. The axe itself was simple in designed, no marks or engravings on the metal surface, and no patterns etched into its handle. Hiccup thought this was odd because even though Astrid was never a really girly girl but she always took great care and pride in her weapons.

"Yean I know, it's about my fourth or fifth one this year." She complained.

"Why do you keep getting new ones?" Hiccup asked, still examining the axe in my hand. It was of average quality, but it didn't have any soul. The person that made it must not have been particularly interested in making it.

"I don't know, I just haven't been able to get on with a good axe in ages. There either too heavy, too light, too boring etc." A smile spread across Hiccup's face and he saw Astrid give me a quizzeled look. Hiccup felt the familiar sensation prickling in the back of his mind, and the smile on his face broadened. In a split second he spun around and threw the axe he was holding, it flew through the air right at Toothless and before anyone could blink a burst a blue flame shot out of Toothless's mouth and destroyed the axe.

"Good boy." Hiccup said to Toothless while scratching him behind his ear, Toothless purred in response.

"What the Hel Hiccup? My mum said she wasn't going to buy me another one until at least next year. Now what am I going to do?" Astrid shouted.

"Come with me." Hiccup said. He didn't give her a chance to answer before he was pulling her along towards all their supplies. Hiccup spun around so that he was behind her and leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Close your eyes." Astrid shivered as his breath tickled her neck. Hiccup leaned his head over to see if she had closed her eyes, which she had. He walked over to the pile of stuff they had brought with us and rummaged though for a bit until he found what he was looking for.

"Hiccup?... I have to go soon." Astrid said, getting anxious.

"It's okay, now open your eyes."

Astrid opened her eyes to see something wrapped up in cloth. She gave Hiccup a confused look but he just smiled and held the item up to her. She took it out of his hands and slowly unwrapped the cloth from the object. The cloth fell away and she gasped in surprise. What was left in her hands was something she had been looking for, for six years.

"I haven't seen it since you threw it from my hands, when I was trying to attack Toothless." Astrid said as she traced her fingers up the handle, feeling the familiar ribbons she had wrapped around it and her name that had been engraved.

"I came back here before I left, and realized that in your haste to go and tell on me, you had forgotten to pick it up. I wanted to take it back to you, but you can pretty much imagine what would have happened if I went back." Hiccup said smiling at her. Tears started falling from her eyes and she had no idea why.

"Do you know how I got this axe?" Astrid asked but didn't give Hiccup any time to answer. "My father gave it to me on my tenth birthday, it was my first real weapon. My father told me that when I held this axe I would walk, talk and think just like a Viking." She smiled at the memory.

"I know" Hiccup answered. She turned to him with a confused look on his face so he would continue.

"About two weeks before your birthday your father came into the forge and asked Gobber to make the finest axe on the whole island, it had to be just the right size, right shape and right weight and he would accept nothing less. Of course Gobber spent days trying to get it just as your father wanted it but he always said there was something missing, so I begged Gobber to let me have a try. I spent the rest of the remaining week making this exact axe and making sure it was perfect for you. Then your father came to inspect it the day before you birthday he told me it was perfect. I'll never forget the next day when he presented the axe to you and your face lit up, how you would graze your fingers along the engravings that I had spent a whole night doing, the way in which you would swing it with such grace. I was so happy that something I had made brought you such happiness." Hiccup finished, slightly embarrassed. Astrid was absolutely surprised, she had never known that Hiccup had made her axe. Though it made sense, Gobber would never have been able to make something so fine and delicate. She was just about to lean into kiss him again, when her fingers grazed over something that hadn't been there before. She withdrew her head and glanced at what her fingers had just grazed over. It was another engraving but one that hadn't been there six years ago, it read 'with you.'

"Hiccup, what does this mean?" She asked as she pointed to the words. He looked down at them and smiled. He said nothing but grabbed the swords from his back and laid them in front of me. I looked closely at the two swords and noticed that they too had writing on them.

"The person who gave me these swords said that are an extension of myself, so I should personalize them. I thought for ages about how I could do this and then Matt gave me the idea of home, but I didn't have a home at the time, but then Matt said to me that everyone always has a home. And I realized that he was right so I engraved, 'Home is where my heart is.' on one sword and 'And my heart is forever' on the other. And then on your axe I carved 'with you.' for my heart has always been and forever will be yours." He looked down at Astrid and she saw the truth in his eyes.

She leaned forward to give him another kiss to show how much what he said meant to her. This kiss was long and passionate, until Astrid heard a whining noise coming from her side. She looked over and saw Etana, and she had finally woken up and had a hurt expression on her face.

"It's ok I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye." Astrid said as she slid the axe into place on my back and walked over to her to give her a hug. She seemed satisfied with this and went back over to where Toothless and the over dragons were lying down. Astrid turned back to Hiccup and saw that he had a bittersweet smile on his face.

"Hiccup, you know I'll come back right? I will never leave you." Astrid said taking his hands in her own.

"Yeah I know. Still doesn't make saying goodbye any easier." He said.

Astrid could tell something was still plaguing his mind but she really had to get going otherwise there really would be a search party out looking for her.

"I will be back tonight, I promise." She said as she leaned up to give him one last kiss before she climbed over the rocks to get out the cove. When she had reached the top she looked back and saw that Hiccup was still watching her leave. She smiled and made a big show of blowing him a kiss which had him burst out laughing before she disappeared into the forest.


	7. The Risk

Astrid rushed back to Berk with a feeling of dread. When she got there she would have to act like nothing had changed, when in fact a lot had changed. Hiccup was now back, her heart was now whole and she had a pet dragon, all of this she had to keep hidden until the right time and she had no idea how long that would be. She walked along the familiar trails of Berk listening to the sounds of nature before the sounds of the village would scare it all away. As she let her mind relax, her thoughts of course turned to Hiccup. She still couldn't believe he was back, he was really back, this wasn't a dream – She had pinched herself numerous times to make sure – and they were finally going to be together. But one thing stood in their way, Stoick. She had no idea how he would react when he finds out that Hiccups back. She knew he preferred to think that Hiccup never existed, but Astrid always thought it was a cover for his grief at pushing his son away. But she knew that no matter what happens she was going to stand by him.

As she carried on walking se could hear the faint sounds of the village in the distance. As she carried on walking, again her mind couldn't help but wonder, this time my thoughts turned to Etana. She was the most beautiful dragon Astrid had ever seen with her vibrant blue and yellow scales. She would never be able to look at a dragon the same way ever again. Ever since Hiccup showed her the true nature of dragons she had never harmed a dragon, no easy task when living with Vikings. Every time she saw one it made her think of Hiccup and she couldn't bring herself to hurt it. But now when she saw a dragon she will think of them as her dragon's kin and therefore as her own family. She wondered if that's a dragon rider thing or just her.

Astrid could not put off entering the village any longer. So she squared her shoulders, wiped are traces of emotion from her face and stomped past the last layer of trees into the village. At first she came across no one she was particularly close with. That was until she spied Ruffnut over by the well gathering water. Astrid made her way over to her and when she was about 10 feet away shouted her name. Ruffnut spun around dropping the bucket of water she was holding and stared at her. But before she could say anything Astrid's mother rushed up to her from out of nowhere.

"Where in the name of Odin have you been? Do you know how worried I've been? Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm sorry mother I was…" In the entire time it took Astrid to get there she neglected to come up with an excuse as to where she'd been. She blamed Hiccup for making her think of him.

"I was…on a walk and lost track of time." Astrid winced at how lame her excuse was, but her mother seemed to buy it because she just gave her a stern look and said not to let it happen again and then went to do her jobs around the village. Astrid watched as she disappeared into the crowd before turning her attention back to Ruffnut. She turned round so that she was facing her and she engulfed me in a hug.

"Ruff what are you doing? I can't breathe." Astrid struggled to say.

"I'm sorry." She said when she pulled away, "it's just that when you didn't come back yesterday and when you weren't at the cliff this morning I thought you might have done something reckless because of you know," Ruffnut brought her head closer to Astrid's and made her voice barely above a whisper. "What Hiccup did? I mean I was really scared for you, your mother was in a panic when you didn't come home thinking that a dragon had got you and I thought because of what happened you might have….kind of…lost it. No offence."

"You thought I was going to kill myself?" Astrid asked in disbelief.

"Well it's just I know how much you missed him, then getting him back and then losing him again, I thought you might have been in a bit of a fragile state." Ruffnut said in a concerned voice.

Astrid couldn't help it and just started uncontrollably laughing. "I can honestly say Ruff," she said between fits of giggles "that, it never crossed my mind."

"Well good, and I must say you are handling everything remarkably well."

"No Ruff it's okay, he's…" Astrid trailed of thinking, should she tell Ruffnut about Hiccup. He he didn't say not to tell anyone about him, besides the obvious. Ruffnut would be so happy when she finds out, but it could put Hiccup in danger. Astrid couldn't take that risk; she wouldn't lose him again, "…in a better place."

Ruffnut smiled sadly at her, "It's okay, one day you will see him again. And don't worry I told Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout what happened so tonight were going up to the cliff to pay our last respects. It will be good to say goodbye. For closure, you know?" Astrid could see the tears pooling at the sides of her eyes and she so badly wanted to tell her the truth, but she just couldn't risk it.

"I'm going to go lie down for a bit before tonight; I'll let you get back to work." Astrid said and gave Ruffnut a smile before turning around and walking in the direction of her house. On her way down the hill she passed Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout all sitting under a tree near the edge of the village. They were sitting in silence and just staring at nothing. Even though they hadn't seen Hiccup in years it still must hurt to know that they will never see him again. She could so easily take away their grief, but that would put Hiccup and his friends in danger as well as the dragons. Ever since Hiccup left none of them had had the same drive to kill dragons and they hadn't gone out of their way to harm dragons. But they hadn't seen what she'd seen and so still fought them when they raided the village, so she had no idea how they would react to Toothless, Etana and the rest.

Astrid carried on walking to her house, trying to not let the looks on her friend's faces get to her. She knew she couldn't tell them but she still really wanted to. Just as she was nearing her house she heard her name being called and spun round to see who it was and what they wanted. She saw Laufiea making her way towards her and inwardly groaned.

"What do you want?" Astrid asked in an annoyed voice.

"Someone's in a mood today, what happened finally, realized you're going to die alone." She said.

"No I just fear that the God's will strike me down for interacting with someone that brings such shame to the tribe." Astrid replied, deliberately taking a step away from her.

"Whatever, Stoick sent me to fetch you; he wants to see you right away. So come on move it." Laufiea said, already turning her back before she'd even finished talking.

"Don't you dare order me about." Astrid said in a deathly calm voice before she started making her way back up towards the chief's house.

"Oh before you go," Lauifea shouted after her, "do you know where Snotlout is, I have an itch that needs scratching." She said with a smirk on her face.

"Go fuck yourself." Astrid replied trying to get away from her as fast as possible.

"No thanks it more fun when someone else does it." Astrid heard her say before she walked off. As Astrid got nearer to the Stoick's house and she couldn't help the feeling of dread that started to seep into the pit of her stomach. Did he know about the dragons? Did he know where she'd really been all night? Did he know about Hiccup? Astrid tried to calm herself down; it wouldn't look good to walk in with a guilty look on her face. She carefully knocked onto the door before entering. She hadn't been inside this house in years, it brought back memories to painful to remember. Stoick was not in the main living area, nor was he in the kitchen. She was about to go check his room, but thought better of it, he would not be happy if he came in and found her in his personal space. So she decided to sit and wait. She sat in the living area for about 2 minutes before she heard a noise from upstairs and as far as she knew there was only Hiccups room and a spare up there, wonder which one he's in? Astrid always thought the whole 'I have no son' thing was just a cover to mask how upset he was about Hiccup leaving. She wondered how he would react if he knew Hiccup was back.

She heard footsteps coming down the steps and saw Stoick's large frame as he climbed down into the living area. He stopped when he noticed her.

"What are you doing here?" Stoick asked.

"Laufiea told me that you wanted to talk to me." Astrid replied, suddenly scared that Lauifea was pulling a prank on her.

"Oh yes, I didn't think you would be here so fast." He looked up the stairs and then back at Astrid. "I was just moving some old junk into the spare room up there." He explained.

"Of course you were, sir." Astrid said, unsure if he picked up on the sarcasm in her voice. He started walking over towards the fire at the other end of the room. As he was doing Astrid took notice of how tired he looked, like he hadn't slept in weeks. There was also no life in his eyes, like he had lost his reason for living. She actually felt sorry for him; it can't have been easy losing your wife and then losing your only child. It must have put a great strain on him, but that's no excuse for what he's done. He stood facing the fire for a moment. While he was doing this Astrid looked out the window to see the sun just about to set. She was meant to be at the cliff soon. When he turned back around he had his emotionless stone face mask on again.

"Now Astrid I have asked you to come here for two reasons. The first is that you, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs are all old enough now to accompany the rest of the tribe on dragon nest hunts. Now I know this must be exciting for you but I'm counting on you to be mature about this. You and your friends will travel on the next voyage which will be in a week. What do you have to say?"

"No…"

"Excuse me? What do you mean no?" Stoick asked in disbelief.

"I mean I'm not putting mine and my friend's lives on the line, just for you to ease your own guilt." Astrid said, standing up from her seat.

"How dare you speak to me like that! I am your Chief and you will show me respect." Stoick shouted.

"I will treat you like a chief when you start acting like one! Now if you'll excuse me I have to go." Astrid started walking towards the door.

"Don't you dare walk away from me!" But by the time he said it Astrid was already out the door and half way down the hill. As she was running she briefly wondered what the implications of what she had just done would be, probably exile. But that prospect didn't seem as daunting as it once had. She also wondered what the second thing he wanted to talk to her about was, but quickly shuck it off as unimportant.

She reached the cliff just after the sun had set. While everyone was waiting they had built a bonfire and were currently sitting around it. When Astrid walked up to them they all turned to her and smiled, she smiled back and tock a seat near Ruffnut.

"Well now every one is here we can get started." Fishlegs announced as he stood up. "We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of our friend Hiccup. In the time we knew him he was a great friend to all of us and he will be sadly missed. I would just like to say something else about mine and Hiccups personal friendship. Hiccup was my first ever true friend; we had known each all our lives and grew close through our mutual lack of vikingness." There was a small laugh from the group. "We used to dream about proving ourselves to the tribe and that we would go down in history as great Vikings. But now that no longer matters to me because I know that in my own special way, I already am a great Viking, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the same goes for Hiccup." There was a murmuring of agreement from the group, as Fishlegs sat down; Astrid could see he was doing his best not to cry. The next to speak was Snotlout; he stood up from his spot and cleared his throat.

"I don't have much to say about Hiccup except this. Hiccup was my cousin, and though many times I tried to deny it we shared the same blood. I sometimes wondered how two people that share the same blood could be so different. I always thought that I was a better person than Hiccup, I could throw better, I could hunt better and I could fight better. But then I realized how wrong I was. Everyday Hiccup would treat me with nothing but kindness, and maybe a little bit of sarcasm, and I would throw it back in his face. Every day he would ignore all the horrible things I said to him and still treat me as a friend. And now I know who the better person was and I can honestly say I've never been prouder of sharing blood with someone other than that of my cousin, Hiccup." Astrid had no idea Snotlout felt that way about Hiccup, but she supposed it made sense. Next to speak was Ruffnut and Tuffnut. In true twin fashion they did it together. "Although Hiccup was never a very good Viking…"

"He was always a hell of a comedian. Hiccup made us laugh like no one else…"

"Whether it be because of one of his crazy inventions or because of his latest accident…"

"It was almost guaranteed that when you ran into Hiccup you would end up nearly wetting yourself with laughter."

"We just wanted to say that Hiccup…"

"We will never forget you Hiccup, or any of the times you brought smiles to our faces." Tuffnut and Ruffnut sat down with smiles on their faces.

Finally, it was Astrid's turn to speak. She stood up and opened her mouth but nothing came out. She looked around at the faces of her friends, they all wore the same expression of sadness and loss, and it was literally killing her knowing that she could end their sadness. Astrid looked into each and every one of their eyes and saw unshed tears and she realized something. She was being selfish. She just wanted to keep Hiccup to herself and that wasn't fair on them. He was just as much their friend as he was hers and they should have the right to know that their friend isn't a coward and that he is very much alive.

"Guys, I need to show you something…"


	8. The Old Gang

"Guys, I need to show you something..." Everything seemed to go silent; Astrid could no longer hear the gust of the wind as it blew through the trees. The echo of the water as it hit the rocks below the cliff disappeared. The crackling of the fire silenced. The sound of her own breathing and heartbeat stopped as she awaited their reaction.

"Can't it wait? This is kind of important." Ruffnut finally asked after an awkward silence.

"No this is even more important." Astrid replied. "This will change the rest of our lives forever."

"You're starting to freak me out now," Snotlout said "What is it that you need to show us?"

"I can't explain it; you have to see it for yourselves." Astrid said.

"Is it too late to go now?" Fishlegs asked excitedly.

"No, come let's hurry." Astrid ran ahead barely containing her excitement. She turned to see her friends all giving her strange looks. "Come on," she urged "You'll understand when you see." Astrid carried on running and she heard the sound of four pairs of feet running behind me. As we ran towards the cove a feeling of dread settled in my stomach. Will Hiccup be mad that she brought them? Are they a threat to Etana and the other dragons? Will Matt, Jack and Lizzy attack before she has a chance to explain? What will happen once we get there? All these questions and more buzzed around her head but before she had any answers, they were approaching the coves hidden entrance. Astrid stopped abruptly almost causing Tuffnut to slam into the back of her. She stayed frozen for a few seconds trying to figure out what to say.

"Astrid... Are you okay?" Tuffnut asked.

Astrid slowly turned around to face her friends. She would trust each of them with her life, but she still felt uneasy about trusting them with this.

"Before I show you I need you to promise me that you will all keep an open mind, not jump to any conclusions and most importantly not to raise you weapons. Do you promise?" Astrid said.

"Astrid, what's going on?" Ruffnut asked.

"Just promise and everything will become clear." She begged.

"Okay we promise," they all nodded.

Astrid felt better after that but she still felt a bit uneasy as she guided them through the entrance. The sun had long since set and the moon's soft glow shed little light through the trees that hid the cove. Astrid at least expected a fire of some sort, if not to give off light, at least for cooking their evening meal. Yet no soft orange glow could be seen though out the cove, Astrid couldn't see anything. No Hiccup, no Toothless, no Etana, nothing. She couldn't understand where they'd all gone. They wouldn't have left without telling her and Hiccup knew she was coming back tonight. Then a horrible feeling settled over her, what if it was all a dream? Her mind playing a cruel trick on her. Maybe she'd passed out from depression and was lying in a coma at home. Then a worse thought entered her mind, what if Hiccup had on purposely left her again. What if he decided he didn't want to be with her?

"Astrid, what are we supposed to be looking at? I can barely see ten feet in front of me it's so dark." Complained Snotlout, but Astrid was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to answer. She was sinking deeper and deeper into depression that she didn't see the slight movement in the shadows, until it was too late.

There was a collective gasp from Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs as three figures wearing hoods suddenly had blades held to their throats. Snotlout and Tuffnut stood paralyzed as a man dressed in dark blue stood between them, his arms extended to show two sharp blades coming out of his wrists which he held barely a centimeter away from both their necks. Fishlegs stood completely still as a woman dressed in crimson red perched on his back holding a knife in her hand that she pressed to his flesh, not enough to pierce the skin but enough that he could feel the pressure. Ruffnut dared not move as a man dressed in forest green stood to her side holding out his sword in front of her neck so that if she made any sudden movements, he would have no trouble slicing her head off.

"Why are you here?" The one in green asked.

"And no lies." The one in blue added.

The four Viking stayed silent either in shock at their current predicament or in defiance of their captures.

"Astrid, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" The one in green asked.

Astrid hearing a question directed at her, pulled herself out of her depression to glance at the direction it had come from. The moment she saw the three hooded figures a smile broke out across her face. 'they hadn't left her' she thought. She turned her head looking for Hiccup, but the cove was still shrouded in darkness.

"Matt, where's Hic..." Astrid finally noticed the predicament her friends were in.

"It's okay they're my friends, they promised they wouldn't harm you or the dr...others." Astrid said.

"Are you crazy?" The one in red shouted. "Are you trying to get us killed? How do we know we can trust them? Do you have any idea the danger you've put us all in?"

"Lizzy they have a right to know, he was their friend long before he was yours. Now I'd appreciate if you let them go." Astrid said as she stared Lizzy down as best she could while the others face was covered by a hood.

No one moved and cove plummeted into a tense silence. The Vikings unsure what exactly was going on and the strangers in hoods unsure if they could trust the newcomers.

"Well I'd hoped this reunion would have gone better." Laughed an unseen voice ahead of them. Everyone turned to look at the shadows where the voice came from but only seeing a dark blur. "It's okay guys you can let them go, I trust them." In a second the hooded figures and their blades disappeared into the shadows, taking the Vikings weapons with them. The Vikings turned to see where the strangers had gone but they'd already disappeared into the shadows, leaving the young Vikings defenseless. There was a moment of silence as the Vikings continued to stare ahead of them at the dark blur that commanded the hooded figures.

"Show yourself!" Snotlout shouted into the darkness.

Everyone held their breath as they awaited for the mysterious mans reply. The silence seemed to stretch on for ages, but in reality was only a few seconds. Suddenly a burst of blue flame shot out of nowhere and set fire to a pile of logs in between the Vikings and the stranger, thus illuminating the area around them with its bright flames. After the Vikings eyes adjusted to the sudden light, they looked ahead to see the well built man dressed in white with a hood from earlier that they had chased through the forest and had seen jump off a cliff. Before anyone could say anything the three other hooded figures jumped down from nowhere and landed gracefully either side of the man in white.

Hiccup stared at his old friends for a moment and realised he had been wrong earlier, they had changed quite a bit. Snotlout had started to grow a beard. Fishlegs had lost a considerable amount of weight and now stood his full height. Ruffnut now wore her hair up in a pony tail and had cut it so that it no longer hung past her shoulders. Tuffnut had also cut his hair really short and had it spiked at the top of his head. Over all no major differences like Hiccup had under gone himself but enough to show that a considerable amount of time had passed since he'd spent time with them. Hiccup didn't have any more time to study his friends as it seemed the shock has worn off.

"It can't be..." Ruffnut whispered.

"You're the dragon sympathizer from earlier." Tuffnut stated. He took a step forward as if to run at Hiccup, but was abruptly stopped when a knife flew towards him landing just in front of his out stretched foot.

"Don't take another step or next time I won't miss" Lizzy said threateningly, another knife already poised in her hand.

"It's okay Lizzy." Hiccup said. Lizzy turned to look at him and gave him a look as if to say 'I don't trust them.' While Lizzy and Hiccup were having a silent conversation with each other, Hiccup didn't notice that Ruffnut had suddenly moved until she jumped on him and enveloping him in a hug. Hiccup wrapped his arms around her to stop her falling as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. She started shaking against him and Hiccup realised she was crying.

"I...th...thought you wer...were deaddd..." She sobbed against his chest. Matt, Jack and Lizzy stood ready at Hiccup's sides in case she suddenly attacked.

"It's okay, look I'm fine" Hiccup said soothingly as he rubbed her back. Her sobbing died down until it stopped altogether.

"I'm really glad your back." She whispered before unwrapping her legs from his waist and standing up.

"What is going on?" Snotlout shouted, "Who is this guy?"

Hiccup looked at Snotlout, Fishlegs and Tuffnut trying to decide the best way to tell them, he thought out the possible different tactics but then just decided to go for the direct approach because any subtle methods would be lost on them anyway.

"It's me, Hiccup." He stated as he lifted his hood down. There was a collective gasp and then silence descended on the group. The three of them stood with shocked expressions on their faces. Hiccup started to get a bit worried about them, it didn't look like they were breathing. He took a few steps forward until he was standing nearly in front of them.

"Guys, you okay?" Hiccup asked. He had no time to react when he was enveloped into a massive group hug. They are laughed and shared a 'manly' hug, patting each other on the back and then coughing awkwardly after it.

"My Thor Hiccup, you really beefed up. Good for you, no longer a little scrawny weakling." Snotlout exclaimed, punching Hiccup in the arm, which six years ago would have sent him hurttling to the floor, but now he barely felt it.

"Thank Oden your back Hiccup, Berk's been so boring without you" Tuffnut laughed.

"Hiccup you have to tell me everything that's happened, you've changed so much." Fishlegs said, practically jumping up and down in excitement. Hiccup laughed with the guys, until he noticed that Astrid had been silent throughout the reunion. He looked around and saw her standing a few feet away from me with a proud smile on her face. He held his hand out to her but instead of taking it she jumped into his arms and gave him a kiss. He held onto her legs and swung her round as she kissed him.

"Ugh gross guys." Fishlegs exclaimed before turning around so he didn't have to see. "It's bad enough when Snotlout and Laufiea start doing it." Hiccup just laughed and let Astrid jump off him. "We're done now; you can turn around." Fishlegs did so and I could see the blush on his cheeks. Hiccup looked up and saw that Snotlout was frowning at them and thought that he must still hold a flame for Astrid, but that didn't really make sense because if what Astrid told him was true, then he really shouldn't be interested in Astrid anymore now that he has Laufiea. Hiccup was interrupted from his train of thought as Tuffnut spoke.

"So now that we've got everything established and had our nice reunion, do you think we could have our weapons back? I know Macey will be missing me." Tuffnut joked.

"Of course, guys you can you give them back their weapons." Hiccup said.

"Hiccup, what about the...erm...others?" Matt whispered to him then tilted his head slightly in the direction of where the dragons...oh yeah, the dragons. Hiccup looked down at Astrid and saw worry in her eyes. She was worried about Etana because she still hasn't gained back her full strength after her injury. This is going to be hard and will need some careful handling.

"Listen, no offence but we don't really trust you. I know you have history with Hiccup but your complete strangers to Matt, Lizzy and I. So I'm sure you understand if we keep your weapons, at least until we know you can be trusted." Jack said. Hiccup looked at the four of them and it looked like Snotlout was going to start an argument until Fishlegs spoke. "Yeah that's completely understandable, we don't mind."

'Well that went surprisingly well' Hiccup thought.

"So Hiccup," Matt started "Are you going to introduce us?" he smirked.

"Um yeah sure. Guys this is Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs. They were my friends before I left Berk." Matt went over and shook hands with Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout, but when Ruffnut held out her hand Matt instead pulled it up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on it. This action caused Ruffnut to blush which Hiccup tried not to laugh at. Jack simply nodded his head in greeting and Lizzy curtseyed to the group and said "Pleasure to meet you." The Vikings all looked a bit confused by the different greetings but overall it went well.

"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs, this is Mattchagra but we just call him Matt. This it Elizabeth but we call her Lizzy. And finally this is Jack who we call...Jack." There was a mumbled hello from the group.

"So Hiccup, where were you when your friends jumped us?" Fishlegs inquired.

"Oh I was out fishing with Toothless." He replied, not realising his mistake until too late.

"Who's Toothless?" Ruffnut asked.

"Well there are some more people I'd like you to meet. Just stay there for a moment, Astrid stay with them." Hiccup ordered.

Matt, Jack, Lizzy and Hiccup walked into the darkness towards the dragons to prepare them for the visitors. If everything went well, no one would lose any limbs.

Tuffnut, Snotlout, Fishlegs and Ruffnut sat down on the nearby rocks, closer to the warm fire. Astrid stayed standing and paced in front of them.

"Well he's certainly got a lot more commanding" Tuffnut stated.

"I think that's sexy, don't you Astrid?" Ruffnut asked. Astrid stopped pacing long enough to sigh dreamily and whisper a soft 'yeah', then realising what Ruffnut had just said turned to glare at Ruffnut, "Back off, he's mine." She laughed, but with a hint of possessiveness.

"Tuffnut's right though, did you see how those guys follow Hiccup's orders without question. He's definitely changed a lot." Fishleg's exclaimed.

"Speaking of his new friends, can you believe how sneaky they were. I didn't even hear them come up behind me until it was too late and they were holding knives at my throat. Also I didn't even feel them take my weapon, one second it was there and then it was gone." Snotlout said enviously.

"I know what you mean, it really freaked me out when they just disappeared in to the shadows behind us, then jumped down out of nowhere. I've got to get them to teach me how they did that." Ruffnut grinned excitedly. There was a moment of silence as they waited for Hiccups return. Until Fishlegs realised something.

"Astrid how long have you known that Hiccup was back?" Astrid stopped pacing and stared at the ground with a guilty expression on her face.

"I only found out yesterday, I swear. After what happened at the cliff I went looking for him and I found him and his friends here." She said in a rush.

"So you were here last night, that's why you weren't at the cliff this morning." Ruffnut realised. "But wait when I saw you this morning, why didn't you tell me then? Why did you let us have that funeral for him when you knew he was alive?" Ruffnut asked angrily.

"Well...um...I..." Astrid stuttered.

"You weren't going to tell us, were you?" Snotlout phrased it as a question but they all knew the answer.

"Listen, you're right at first I wasn't going to tell you, but you don't know the whole story. Wait until Hiccup gets back, then you'll understand why I was hesitant about telling you. Please believe that I was doing what I thought was best." Astrid pleaded.

"Okay, we believe you." Tuffnut said after an awkward silence, "But this reason had better be important." The others agreed. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until they heard the approach of quite a few pairs of feet. They looked forward to where they heard them approaching but they stopped before they came into the light of the fire. Fishlegs briefly wondered where the fire had come from in the first place, but brushed it off as unimportant.

"Now listen guys" they heard Hiccup's voice somewhere ahead of them. "I need you all to remain calm and just stay seated would be best." Hiccup stepped forward coming into the light.

"Toothless this is everyone... Everyone this is Toothless." Toothless stepped forward into the light and tried his best not to growl at the Vikings that used to torment his rider, knowing that it wouldn't help the situation. There was a moment of stunned silence as the Vikings gazed at the dragon. The moment soon wore off as Snotlout made to jump up, but Astrid's firm grasp on his shoulder made him stay seated.

"Now I know this is a lot to take in, but trust me they won't hurt you."

"They?" Fishleg's whispered.

At this Matt, Jack and Lizzy all stood forward with their dragons. Astrid thought it was safe enough to let go of Snotlout now, because even he must realise he couldn't go up against five dragons unarmed, plus their riders. She walked round the stunned Vikings and went and stood next to Etana, who nuzzled her nose against Astrid in a greeting.

"Well are you going to say anything?" Hiccup asked. The Vikings continued to sit in silence and stare at the beasts that they had been raised to hate and kill on sight. They barely registered Astrid go and stand beside a dragon.

"This is..." Tuffnut began, "going to take some getting used to." He laughed.

"Yeah..." Laughed Ruffnut, "Dragons, horses what's the difference."

"Wow I never seen these types of dragons before, I can't wait to study them." Fishlegs exclaimed excitedly. Everyone laughed nervously, before relaxing, realising that no one was in danger of getting into a fight.

"Well know that we've got the introductions out of the way, why don't we eat." Everyone went and sat around the fire, the Vikings sitting as far away from the dragons as they could, which is understandable. Toothless went and fetched the basket of fish that he and Hiccup had caught earlier, and Matt went to work on cooking it. After some pleasant conversation about everyone lives on Berk and some questions about Hiccup's adventures, they all settled down into eating their fish. Snotlout finished his first and then went and asked for seconds and still managed to finish it before everyone else. "That was good but not as good as Rowanna's, no offence Matt." Snotlout said leaning back

"Who's Rowanna?" Hiccup asked.

"Snotlout's girlfriend." Tuffnut said in a teasing voice.

"No she's not," Snotlout denied. "She's three years younger than us, even though she's really short for her age. Her mother died in child birth and when her father didn't return from a dra...um hunt, my father said she could live with us as she had no one else. And I have to say that she is the best cook on Berk, she can make anything taste heavenly." Snotlout explained.

"Sounds like a wife in the making aye buddy." Jack nudged Snotlout in the shoulder and the group burst out laughing. "I don't think I can let her get married, I seriously couldn't live without her cooking." Snotlout went into deep thought about what to do if that situation ever arose. Everyone seeing the look of deep contemplation on his face came to the conclusion that he was a blind fool that didn't realise how much he liked Rowanna. They decided to leave him to his thoughts and started a conversation on another random topic. Everyone was enjoying the company and having a good time, the Vikings we're having so much fun that they forgot that they were in the presence of dragons. Snotlout eventually pulled himself out of his thoughts and joined in the conversation, however something was grating on him. He looked over at Astrid and Hiccup. Astrid was sat on Hiccup's lap and they were feeding each other fish and occasionally kissing. He wasn't jealous; he was over Astrid because now he had Laufiea, although he had doubts about their future. Plus, ever since Hiccup left Snotlout knew she'd been pinning for him. And now their together he was really happy for them. But something was nagging him about their relationship, something his dad said to him before he went on that stupid hunt. He asked him if he still had a thing for Astrid because-

"Astrid do you really think this is wise?" Snotlout suddenly questioned.

"Huh...What?" She replied confused.

"I mean I know you're happy now but you're both going to end up hurt in the long run, so why start this when you know it will have to end?" Snotlout asked. The group had gone quite as they listened, they all heard the seriousness in his voice.

"Seriously Snotlout, what are you going on about?" She demanded.

"Your engagement!"


	9. Forever Yours

"Your engagement!"

There was a collective gasp from the group at Snotlout's exclamation.

"My what?" Astrid demanded as she jumped off Hiccups lap onto her feet.

"Didn't Stoick tell you?" Snotlout questioned.

"Of course he didn't tell me or I wouldn't be near hysteria right now!"

"My father told me before he di...die...left, that Stoick was going to tell you after they got back from the hunt. I assumed that's why he wanted to talk to you earlier." Snotlout said.

"Well I didn't stick around to listen to the bastard. After he told me that he was taking us on the next dragon hunt," Astrid was so enraged that she didn't even notice all the dragons hiss, "and I told him no way in Hel we're going on a stupid hunt and that he was a crap chief and then I stormed out. How dare he do this to me? What right does he have?" Astrid shouted.

"Well he is the chief..." Fishlegs mentioned.

"Not the point!" Astrid screamed in response. "No should decide who I marry except me."

"Sometimes you don't have a choice!" Lizzy screamed. Everyone stared in shock at Lizzy's outburst but she refused to meet any one's gaze and instead stared into the fire. Jack and Matt knowing of her past situation shot the Vikings silent plea's to not ask any questions. Vikings were not known for being sensitive and knowing when to stay silent, so it was surprising when the Vikings let it drop, leaving their curiosity unsated. Even Tuffnut after receiving an elbow to the stomach from Ruffnut stayed silent.

"Anyway," Astrid began after the short period of silence. "Who is my so called betrothed?" Directing the demand at Snotlout.

"Well my father didn't tell me much, just that it was the second son of a chief from one the neighboring tribes. Father said that Stoick wanted to strengthen the alliances with the other tribes, in hopes of them joining forces with us against the dragons." He cast a cautious glance at the dragons. "He knew that they would be reluctant to help since they haven't experienced as many raids as Berk has, so uniting the tribes through marriage would mean that they have an obligation to help. Also it would mean that Berk would have another successor in case something happened to me." Snotlout immediately realised that, that wasn't the best way to tell Hiccup that he had been replaced as Stoick's successor. Snotlout turned to confront and apologise to Hiccup for just blurting it out, but was surprised to find the space that Hiccup had occupied empty.

"Hiccup?" Snotlout shouted. Everyone turned to see that Hiccup had disappeared, leaving no trace of him ever being there. Astrid looked behind her glancing at the place she and Hiccup had both occupied only moments before. Not seeing him there, she looked round the cove franticly, desperately trying to locate her missing other half. The other Vikings also jumped up and began looking for their missing friend.

"Toothless?" Astrid shouted, only to discover that the dragon had disappeared along with his rider. Astrid whipped her head around to face Matt, Jack and Lizzy who still sat in front of the fire looking completely calm, even though their friend has gone missing.

"Don't just sit there. Where is he?" Astrid demanded.

"How are we supposed to know?" Lizzy spat back. "We've never been here before, we don't know the island." Lizzy still sounded angry, assumedly at whatever angered her earlier.

"He's gone! Don't you care? What if he doesn't come back?"

"Hiccup can take care of himself." Matt replied in a calm tone.

"He'll come back, he can't abandon the Creed." Jack stated leaving no room for discussion.

"What's the 'the Creed'?" Fishlegs enquired, eager for more knowledge on Hiccup and his new friends.

"Nothing you need to know about." Matt said, his tone implied that it was not something he was going to discuss. Matt then went about glaring at Jack, who kept his gaze low knowing that it was stupid of him to talk about the Creed.

"That doesn't matter at this point. All that matters is that I find Hiccup and talk to him." Astrid screeched on the brink of tears. She started walking towards the gorges exit until Matt's voice stopped her.

"Astrid listen, Berk is a pretty big island; you can't search the entire island on foot, plus Toothless is with him, meaning he might not even be on Berk." Matt reasoned.

"Then I'll ride Etana and go find him." Astrid said in a determined voice and changed direction towards where Etana was sitting.

"Yeah right," Jack laughed. "Have you ever actually ridden a dragon before?"

"Actu..." Astrid began.

"Without Hiccup." Jack interrupted. Astrid hung her head, Jack already knowing the answer continued.

"Also Etana is still weak from her wound." Etana gave a loud squawk as if to disagree but was ignored by Jack who carried on, "and if she went flying right now you risk her ripping her stitches. So then not only would Etana probably die but you still would have no idea where Hiccup is." Astrid looked like she was going to argue, so Jack carried on.

"Besides, apart from you having no idea how to ride a dragon and no idea where Hiccup is and Etana being mortally wounded just days ago, Etana also doesn't have a saddle so it would be near impossible to ride her anyway. So just sit down and wait for him to comeback." Jack sat down and then patted the space next to him with a stern look on his face, although you could tell he was suppressing a smile. Astrid was grateful to Jack for trying to bring some humour to the situation but Astrid was never one for sitting around and waiting, she was one for actions.

"Listen, I'm thankful for the advice, but..." Astrid didn't get to finsh her sentence before she was interrupted.

"Agh! Will you please for the love of God listen to us?" Lizzy shouted at Astrid. "Hiccup has spent years travelling around; worked with the best spies, hunters, trackers and warriors on the planet. His skills are unmatched by anyone. So believe me when I tell you that if Hiccup doesn't want to be found, he can't be found. So there is nothing you can do but be patient and wait for him to come back." By the end Lizzy was breathing heavily after her rant. Lizzy casted her eyes to the rim of the cove and saw the first rays of sunlight on the horizon. She then schooled her features and evened out her breathing.

"Day break approaches." She announced. "Now the way I see it you have two options. One, you and your friends can wait here for Hiccups return and risk us being found by the Vikings when they come looking for you. Or you can return back to your village and then we will send word when he comes back. Now I recommend that you choose the second option." Lizzy glared at the Vikings until Jack took her hands and lead her away from the crowd so she could calm down after that whole outburst.

Matt turned to the Vikings and saw the astonished looks on their faces and smiled thinking of when he had first been on the receiving ends of Lizzy's now world famous outbursts. For such a small woman she really packed a punch.

"I hate to say this but Lizzy's is right, although she could have phrased it better. You should head back to the village before the other Vikings wake up and see you all emerging from the forest, it would cause unnecessary problems. I promise that when Hiccup returns we will get word to you." He looked at each Vikings in the eye to confirm his honesty, although his eyes lingered on Ruffnut a little longer than necessary, causing said Viking to blush and turn her head.

"Yeah your right." Snotlout said, "If we leave now we should get back before the village wakes up." Snotlout and the other Vikings started heading towards the coves exit. Before they even took one foot out Tuffnut and Ruffnut had already started and argument, Tuffnut prodding Ruffnut about what just happened between her and Matt and Ruffnut replying nothing. The argument quickly became violent, with the twins managing to kick and punch each other while walking behind Snotlout who couldn't be bothered to get them to stop, his thoughts occupied with Hiccup wondering if he was angry that Snotlout was to be the next chief. This left Fishlegs to try and break up the siblings, but to no avail. Astrid lagged behind thinking of how everything had gone wrong in one evening. She had to find Hiccup and make sure he knew that there was no way she was marrying some stupid Viking, just to help Stoick drag more people into his pointless raids. She had to find Hiccup; he had to know that she would never want anyone except him.

Astrid continued walking through the forest, staring at the ground although not paying attention to where she put her feet. She could hear her friend's low voices up a head of her. She was lagging behind but couldn't bring herself to care. All she could think about was Hiccup, she had to find him soon and clear up this whole misunderstanding. But if what Lizzy said was true she wouldn't be able to find him unless he let her. But it did get her thinking. The best spies, hunters, trackers and warriors in the world, Lizzy had said. And according to her Hiccup was better than all of them, although she could have been exaggerating. But from what Astrid had seen of Hiccup recently it doesn't sound so unrealistic. She tried to take comfort in the words that Matt said to her as she was saying goodbye to Etana.

"Don't worry Astrid, Hiccup will come back soon and I'm sure he will understand that it was all a misunderstanding." Matt told her in a comforting voice. She hugged Etana's head to her chest then turned to Matt and gave him a determined smile before turning to follow her friends out the cove. She stopped just before exiting. "How will you get word to us?" she

questioned.

"We have our ways." Matt winked and then said goodbye. The voices of Astrid's friends got lower and lower as she fell further and further behind. It felt wrong for her to leave when they had left on such bad terms. Astrid's mother had always told her that you should never go to bed on an argument, although she knew she had a different method for making it up to her father if the noises from their room were anything to go by. But anyway it felt like she was doing just that, not the making up bit but the argument bit, like her and Hiccup had just had an argument and now they were going to bed on it where it would fester and become a bigger rift better them as they would have to wait until morning to sort it. She knew it's a bad analogy but it's all she could think of.

Astrid lifted her eyes from the ground for the first time since the start of the walk and glanced around. They were still in the thick of the forest so running and hiding from her friends to go find Hiccup would be quite easy, she just had to wait for the right moment. She looked to the left, then the right trying to determine which way to go. However, as she glanced along her right she saw a slight movement in the trees, a shape weaving around the giant trunks, disappearing then reappearing. She stopped walking to watch the shape, it too stopped and looked in her direction.

'Hiccup...' She realised. He seemed to nod his head at her unspoken realisation, before disappearing behind the trees. Astrid broke into a sprint as she chased after him. He seemed to just blend in with the scenery around him; she had to really concentrate to make sure she didn't lose him. Even though she tried her hardest, she lost his moving shape among the trees but refused to give up. She carried on running forward hoping that she would literally run into him. Which amazingly, she did.

The trees seemed to thin out before stopping altogether to create a clearing in the middle of the forest. Hiccup was standing in the middle of it. Astrid ran into him, partly because she couldn't stop because of the momentum she had built up from the running and also because she was so happy to see him. The force knocked them both to the ground, Astrid landing on top for him, and she wasn't going to let the opportunity slip past. So she took advantage of Hiccup's momentarily confusion and kissed him.

-x-

"Hiccup?" He heard Snotlout shout. They had finally realised he'd gone. Of course Hiccup hadn't gone far, he still had to hear the rest of the conversation. So he remained in the shade of the trees above, using my dragon senses to hear what was happening. To anyone else he was but a shadow. After the conversation turned to his whereabouts he decided to leave and instead went for a walk with Toothless. Flying was great and he love it more than he could ever express but sometimes it felt nice to use one's own feet for travelling. Toothless and Hiccup walked in comfortable silence for awhile, just sensing the dragon beside him did more than words ever could. As he walked his skills almost instinctively come out. Without conscious thought his feet avoided dry twigs and leaves, anything that could make a noise, every step he took his feet softly hit the earth before quickly moving on leaving no trace of a footprint. His body unknowingly pulled itself in different directions to avoid low hanging branches. He was like a ghost, moving unseen and leaving no trace.

His thoughts of course turned to Astrid. He knew how he felt about her and how she felt about him, but was he really her best option. He had no money, no home, he was always travelling, his life was in near constant danger and also he couldn't put her before the Creed. Unconsciously he held his hand over his heart and felt through the fabric of his robe to feel the familiar scars, a reminder. While this was never the life he had envisioned when he left Berk and the fact that this destiny had been forced on him, he couldn't bring himself to regret the actions that led him here. What he did brought happiness and freedom to humans and dragons everywhere, and he knew that his sacrifices were worth it.

But he shouldn't make her burden those sacrifices as well. It wasn't fair on her to make her choose between him and the life she had always known. She would have to give up her home, her family, her friends. All for what? A life of duty. Was he worth it? Hiccup knew she would resent him if he tried to make the decision for her, but he know the choice she is going to make. He had to try and convince her that a life here with whomever this person she is engaged to would be better than a life with him. With his resolved strengthened he set about finding Astrid.

It wasn't hard to find them in the forest, what with all the noise that Ruffnut and Tuffnut were making. Hiccup was alarmed at first when he didn't spot Astrid with them, but relaxed when Ihespotted her lagging behind the others. She seemed deep in thought and kept her eyes glued to the floor. All attempts at catching her eye would be futile. So Hiccup decided to walk along with them, though they would never know. He was getting slightly impatience as they had been walking for about 10 minutes and Astrid still hadn't looked up from the floor. Just as he was about to seriously consider throwing stones at her, she lifted her gaze. She looked from side to side a few times, missing Hiccup in the process and slowed her pace even more. She glanced again in his direction and finally noticed him. Hiccup carried on walking band Astrid continued to watch him. He had to get her to follow h so I did something he knew she couldn't resist, he gave chase. Hiccup knew she would follow and was correct. He heard her loud footfalls compared to his silent ones. He decided to lead her to the clearing where thy first saw each other on Berk after six years of being apart. He sped to a halt and awaited her arrival, going over a practiced speak in his head.

He had no time to act as she burst through the trees and ran straight at him and knocking him to the ground. Hiccup laid there dazed for a moment unsure of what was happening until he felt Astrid press her lips to mine. He felt his resolve slipping as he began to think of a life without her. Not waking up with her like they had this morning, not eating my meals with her like we had that evening, not having her kiss me like she is now. And then Hiccup had an epiphany. He couldn't live without her.

The two lovers lay together in the clearing. Astrid had yet to remove her lips from Hiccups. Almost scared that if she did he would disappear again like he did in the forest. Tears started to drop from her eyes on to Hiccup's cheek. The unknown sensation caused Hiccup to pull away from Astrid and gaze into her eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his breath coming out in short puffs. His thumb grazed over her cheek in a comforting gesture.

"I can't lose you." She whispered to him, leaning into his touch. "I love you, you know that right."

"Yes, of course I do. And you know that I love you too."

"So why did you disappear when you heard about this stupid engagement? You must know that there's no way I will go through with it. You are the only one I want to spend my life with."

"I know, but it's not that simple. My life is dangerous, there are few rewards and we're always travelling. We will never settle down. You must make promises and sacrifices...you...must..." Hiccup started to stammer trying to explain everything to Astrid.

"Sssshhhhhhh...It's okay." Astrid shushed, holding Hiccup close to her. "I will do anything if it means staying with you."

"You don't know what you're saying, what you'd be giving up."

"I know that there is only one thing is this world that I cannot live without and that's you. Now stop ruining the moment and kiss me." Astrid laughed as she pulled Hiccups face towards hers. The kiss was soft and held promises of the future. But Hiccup still remained cautious, it is easy for Astrid to make promises now but when Matt told her of the Creed, the sacrifices, the pain, would she still make the same promises. Hiccup was unsure. Hiccup deepened the kiss trying to imprint the feel of her skin, the touch of her fingers, everything about her. He rolled over and pressed his body against hers and she moaned, he tried to memorize the sound. He pulled back and gazed at her beautiful face, glowing red with her blush, her eyes closed and her lip swollen and parted. She looked beautiful.

Astrid's eyes opened and she gazed into the face of her lover. His shaggy brown hair fell over his face but you could still see his bright green eyes beneath it. The small scar that ran through his left eyebrow only served to intensify his gaze. His lips remained parted and his breathing came out short and fast. Over all he looked incredibly sexy.

Hiccup lowered his head to Astrid's neck and started kissing and biting along it. Astrid craned her neck to give him better access and moaned as he bit hard into her neck.

"I'm yours." Astrid whispered in to Hiccups ear.

"Your mine." Hiccup all but growled against her neck, sends vibrations along her skin.

"Forever Yours."


	10. The Creed

The four Vikings managed to make it to the edge of the village before they realised that Astrid was no longer with them. But if they waited much longer for her then the village would start to wake and they would be put in the awkward situation of having to explain to Stoick where they had been all night, when in fact all they wanted to do was fall on their beds and ignore the world until they were fully rested.

"Bloody Astrid, she went looking for Hiccup, didn't she?" Tuffnut exclaimed in an annoyed tone.

"Probably, you saw how upset she was when he disappeared." Ruffnut signed.

"UGH! Fishlegs this is your fault! You should have made sure she was behind you." Snotlout shouted, he was clearly frustrated and didn't really believe that it was Fishlegs fault, but was annoyed that Astrid had run off, putting the rest of them in a frustrating situation and he still felt guilty about what he said to Hiccup.

Fishlegs wisely kept quiet and accepted responsibility, knowing that Snotlout just needed someone to vent at. The four of them fell into silence trying to figure out a way out of their situation. Luckily for them they were saved from having to use their brains when the sound of wings flapping was heard in the distance. Each Viking looked in the direction of the noise as it grew louder. They could just make out the dark shape speeding in and out of the trees, before slowing down and then coming to a halt, a couple feet in front of them. They immediately recognised that it was Toothless and the hooded figure on his back was Hiccup, they also unfortunately recognised the small shape trying to slide off Toothless unnoticed.

"Astridddd..." The four Vikings moaned in unison.

"What I'm here aren't I, and we still have time to sneak back into our houses." She huffed, trying to defend her actions, even though she knew that her friends were right, she shouldn't have just run off.

"You guys should hurry up; you don't want to be spotted." Hiccup spoke up. He jumped off Toothless' back and embraced Astrid before reluctantly letting her go. Astrid pulled Hiccups ear down to her lips and whispered, "I promise I will stay with you, no matter what it costs." She kissed him before walking towards the village, not giving Hiccup a chance to respond. Fishlegs and Tuffnut both gave Hiccup 'manly' hugs before following Astrid, and Ruffnut leant forward giving Hiccup a kiss on the cheek before disappearing. Snotlout though lagged behind waiting for the others to leave and be out of ear shot before turning to Hiccup.

"I'm sorry." Snotlout said.

"For what?" Hiccup asked genuinely not knowing.

"For just blurting out that I was replacing you as Stoic's successor and future chief."

"Don't worry about it. I knew what I was giving up when I left, I knew you were next in line and I was happy I was leaving Berk in capable hands. I would have made a terrible chief anyway." Hiccup laughed.

"No, you wouldn't have. Look at you now, look at the man you've become. You would make a great chief."

"But if I hadn't left then I wouldn't be the man I am today; I would still be the same scrawny little boy that everyone thought was helpless." There was an awkward silence between the two, until the guilt Snotlout felt became unbearable.

"Listen cousin, I'm sor-"

"You called me cousin." Hiccup interrupted.

"Yeah I guess I did, didn't I?" Snotlout laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck. The two of them stood awkwardly for a moment, both feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"I always wanted you to call me that when I was younger; I was always trying to seek your approval, well everyone's approval really. Seems like such a silly thing to want now, after all I've seen." Hiccup mused.

"Listen, I want you to know that no matter what the rest of the Village will say about you in the days to come, I'm proud to call you my cousin." Snotlout said reaching out and resting his hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Thanks." Hiccup nodded, "now if I can get the rest of the village to say the same, then that will be one thing off the to-do list." Hiccup joked.

"Yeah, somehow I think persuading them won't be as easy as persuading me." Snotlout laughed.

"Well I've got to try. Anyway you should get going."

"Wait before I go, I want you to know that if the village accepts you back I will gladly step down as future chief."

"No you won't, because even if everyone does accept me back I can't be chief even if I wanted to. I have other duties now that I cannot abandon. I knew that if I joined the Creed that I could never become chief and now I have to live with that decision."

"Why would you do that?" Snotlout questioned.

"I knew that the price the Creed demands was high, but I joined anyway and do you want to know why?" Snotlout remained silent, knowing that the question was rhetorical. "Because the rewards it brings are worth any price to me."

"Hiccup, what is this Creed you speak of?"

"I cannot tell you so please don't ask, just know that one day soon I will leave and you will probably never see me again. But know that I trust you to look after and protect this village. Now go before the village wakes." Tears threatened to leak from Snotlout's eyes, but he refused to let them fall, he would not show weakness in front of Hiccup, not when he had just placed the future of Berk onto his shoulders.

"Yeah, I'll see you soon." Snotlout turned and was about to walk away before turning back to Hiccup. "We're all really glad your back."

With that the two exchanged another 'manly' hug and Snotlout ran to catch up with the others. Hiccup smiled and turned back to Toothless, who had sat a bit away to give them privacy even though he could hear them anyway because of his super hearing, but it was polite never the less.

"Well, today is turning into a really good day." Hiccup laughed to Toothless. Toothless smiled, but remained silent, not wanting to upset Hiccup's mood with his doubts. "Come let's go for a ride, get to know the island again." Hiccup and Toothless went for a quick flight around the Berk before returning to the gorge where Matt, Jack and Lizzy waited for them. As they drew closer Hiccup's happy mood started to fade, the reality of what Astrid had promised began to set in, everyone's reactions when they find out, the fact that his old friends thought he was back for good and he still had to end the century old war between the Vikings and dragons, and the longer he stayed the longer he put everyone at risk.

Toothless touched down in the gorge but Hiccup made no attempt to get off his back. Hiccup tilted his head and saw that everyone was still sat around the fire; they knew he was there but they wisely let him take his time, they all had a pretty good idea of what Hiccup was going to tell them. Hiccup couldn't put off the inevitable any longer and dismounted Toothless. He gave Toothless an affectionate pat on the nose before walking over to where his friends sat. He took his seat opposite Matt and removed his hood.

"Astrid wants to be initiated." Hiccup stated.

"No she doesn't." Matt replied, not taking his eyes off the fire he was poking at with a stick.

"Yes she does." Hiccup insisted.

"No, she wants to be with you. There is a difference." Jack said.

"She does not believe in our cause, so she cannot live by the creed." Matt said finally taking his eyes of the fire to look into Hiccup's.

"Hiccup you've got to understand; she's not like us." Lizzy said reaching out to grab Hiccup's hand. Hiccup sat dazed for a moment staring into the fire, before finally speaking up.

"That's not fair, she-"

"NO! Hiccup your right it's not fair, but it's the truth." Matt shouted. "You know how much dedication is needed for this; she can't be in it half hearted."

"She knows-" Hiccup began.

"But does she really? Or does she just know that she will get to be with you. Does she know that she will have to leave everything behind, probably never see her friends or family again, and risk her life everyday or probably never bare children? Are you really going to ask that of her?" Jack asked.

"She knows and says she's ready." Hiccup quickly said so that he wouldn't have time to take in what his friends were telling him otherwise he would lose his nerve. Hiccup stood up to walk away, but what Matt said next stopped him in his tracks.

"But are you ready? Are you ready to watch me carve the tenants into her chest? Can you bear to watch her rive in agony as she approaches the brink of death? Are you prepared to stand over her corpse if she fails? Can you bring yourself to end her life if she refuses? Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Believe me Hiccup you don't want to watch someone you love go through this." Jack said, unshed tears in his eyes.

"But she's not Sarah..." Hiccup pleaded.

"Listen to us Hiccup," Lizzy screamed. "This life isn't for her, she is a Viking. She will never see things the way we do."

"But you forget, I used to be a Viking!" Hiccup shouted.

"It's not the same!" Jack shouted. By this point everyone was stood up in each other's faces, even the dragons had come over towards their riders in case a fight broke out.

"She is bonded; she has the right to decide for herself." Etana let out a squawk of agreement.

"But she doesn't know of the legends like me, she hasn't met one of our elders like Lizzy had, she is not dying like Jack was, she has a choice unlike you did." Hiccup's expression faltered just for a second at the mention of his joining, but he quickly recovered, putting on a mask of defiance and locked eyes with Matt. There was a moment of silence as the four friends looked at each other.

"Fine!" Matt said, "But you will be the one to perform the ceremony and you shall be the one to do your duty is she refuses."

"Very well." Hiccup said, he turned to Etana and stared into her eyes, in some ways she looked a bit like Astrid they both wore the same confident expression when faced with a challenge.

"Call her." Etana let out a loud roar that would be meaningless to anyone but her rider.

Then suddenly the weight of what was about to happen fell on to his shoulders and nearly caused him to fall to his knees.

"What have I done?"

xXx

Astrid lived the closest forests edge and so was the first to get home after bidding Hiccup goodbye. She crept towards her front door, all the time staying alert for any Vikings that may have been walking around. She got to her house with no interferences and managed to get to her room without waking her mother. When she got to her room she casually looked out her window to see Snotlout only just then leaving the forest. She was curious as to what had made him stay behind and decided to ask Hiccup when she saw him that night. A smile unconsciously spread across her face at just the thought of Hiccup. Astrid scolded herself for being so sentimental. She was just about to get undressed when a distinctive roar rattled through her head. Alarmed that village would think that it was under attack she ran to the window to see if they burst from their houses, weapons raised. But the village remained silent. She heard the roar again, but this time felt this odd tugging sensation as if an invisible rope was tied around her waist pulling her back towards the forest. The roar sounded again but when she listened closely Astrid could almost make out a word, 'come.'

Before Astrid even realised what she was doing she was already running out of her house back into the forest. Not paying attention to where she was going she let the invisible rope guide her. She realised that she was heading back to the gorge and her heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing Hiccup again, she briefly thought if she would ever get over the excitement of seeing Hiccup, she doubted it. Astrid began to grow worried, a thousand thoughts ran through her head as to why Etana was calling to her, very few of them good. Astrid pushed herself to run even faster and she realised she was running at an inhumane speed and a smirk spread across her face, 'one of the perks of being bonded to a dragon' she thought. The sky grew darker and darker as heavy storm clouds gather over head so that it looked almost like night. As she got closer to the gorge and an ominous feeling settled in her stomach.

She ran into the clearing and then abruptly halted at the scene in front of her. Matt and Hiccup stood either side of a large fire in the middle of the clearing. Etana sat off to the side of the fire staring intensely at a box that sat on a log in front of the fire and the other dragons sat behind her. All was silent except for the crackling of the fire. Tension was thick in the air and Astrid felt fear begin to claw at her senses.

"Hiccup what's going on?" She asked, unable to walk any closer. It was Matt not Hiccup that answered.

"Hiccup has promised us that you wish to join the Creed. Is this what you truly want?" Matt lifted his eyes from the fire and stared straight into her eyes. Before she could reply he spoke again. "Think hard about your choice, for once it is made there is no going back." Astrid didn't know what she was promising if she said yes and she assumed it was a lot if they weren't telling her before hand, but she knew what she was losing if she said no and it was something she couldn't afford to lose. Her eyes drifted to Hiccup but he had yet to remove his gaze from the fire. Astrid knew the answer she was going to make but still felt the need to ask, "Can I still be with Hiccup if I say no?"

"I will not lie, if you walk away now you and Hiccup will never be together. But if you stay, you will be together but it will not be easy and you would be leaving a lot more than you'd gain." Matt said, he too knew what my choice was but he was going to force her to say it out loud. Astrid refused to let her mind linger on the words Matt had said and so gave her answer and in doing so, sealed her fate.

"Yes I wish to join the Creed." Astrid kept her eyes on Hiccup as the words fell from her mouth; she saw his whole body tense. Matt spoke again, "Very well. But know that from this moment on if you go back on your word you must face the consequences."

Everyone went silent, Astrid didn't know what was happening, was she supposed to say something or do something? Was all that about consequences just to try scare her and that she had passed some kind of test? Where were Jack and Lizzy? Hiccup had yet to meet her gaze and that told her that this whole initiation thing wasn't over yet.

Just as she was about to voice her questions she felt the familiar weight of her axe disappear from her back. Panicked she began to turn around but sharp blade that she recognised as Jacks that was pressed against her neck preventing her from doing so. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lizzy walk towards the fire, her axe in her hands. She was about to start shouting abuse but a nudge from behind her stopped her.

Jack nudged the back of her legs to make her start walking forward. He did feel guilty about doing this, it was probably unnecessary because they all knew that Astrid wouldn't run, but it was tradition. Thunder began to clap above them and heavy rain quickly began to fall. They stopped in front of the fire. Before Astrid could ask what happened next, Jack had kicked Astrid in the back of her knees causing her to fall to the ground. Jack's presence disappeared from behind her and she saw him go stand beside Lizzy.

Etana lifted her gaze from the box and walked to stand beside Astrid and then kneeled down. Astrid looked at Etana and saw that she was trying to comfort her with her eyes. A voice in the very back of her mind spoke up, "I'm here with you." Before Astrid could understand what had just transpired Matt spoke up.

"Hiccup, proceed." Hiccup for the first time since she had arrived looked up from the fire. He and Matt stared at each other for a while, before Matt spoke again. "If you don't begin, you know what will happen."

Hiccup seemed to be having an internal struggle, but after a couple seconds he approached Astrid and Etana, his hood preventing Astrid from seeing his face. He finally spoke.

"From the heavens above, to the lands below, we are charged with the duty to keep the balance. To speak the tongue of man and understand the way of beast, to bring peace. We are to walk among the ground and fly through the sky, to protect. We are man. We are beast."

"We are man. We are beast." Matt, Jack and Lizzy repeated. There was a moment of silence as Astrid tried to understand what Hiccup had just said.

"Our Creed demands sacrifice. Will you forsake all titles and riches? Will you forsake you home? Will for forsake a family? Will you leave your life behind and be born again?"

The world seemed to slow as everyone waited Astrid's answer. A million things were going through Astrid's head. The questions ran through her mind over and over again, could she do it? She now understood the need for secrecy; no one would join the Creed if they knew exactly what they were giving up. Could the end justify what she had to give up? Doubt suddenly filled her mind. Could she do this? Would it be worth it? Was it too late to change her mind? Astrid then felt something entirely foreign to her, an extremely unpleasant feeling settled in her stomach. When she recognised it she was happy she was already kneeling as the shock would have caused her to collapse. Fear.

For the first time in Astrid's life she was terrified. She had never been so scared of something in her life and she began to panic. Her eyes darted around franticly but their hoods covered her friends faces. Eventually Hiccup tilted his head up and Astrid could finally see him, he too was scared. But was Astrid gazed deeper in to his eyes and she saw something else. She saw his dedication to the Creed, his love for the happiness he brought, his love for her and most importantly the faith he had in her. He truly believed that she would make it through this and Astrid could never bring herself to disappoint him.

Astrid spoke clearly and confidently and never looked away from Hiccups eyes.

"I will."

Hiccup refused to let any emotion appear on his face as Astrid spoke those words. The words that for years he wanted her to say, but hated to hear her say them. Hiccup opened the lid of the box in front of him, the box that Astrid now noticed was covered in jagged scars. Hiccup reached into the box and pulled out a large dagger, the head of which was carved as a dragon. He gripped the handle tightly as he closed the boxes lid and rested the daggers point on the smooth top of the box.

"Our Creed has three tenants, by which you must live the rest of your life by. They will not be easy but you will never suffer alone, we your brothers and sisters will forever be by your side and Etana will forever be a part of you. We are man. We are beast."

Matt, Jack and Lizzy all repeated the phrase.

"Prepare yourself." I heard Jack whisper to me.

"Do you swear to never harm a dragon?" Hiccup asked me.

"I do." Hiccup seemed to brace himself before he carved a diagonal line across the top of the box. As the metal sliced through the wood a massive wave of pain came over Astrid. She screamed in pain as she clutched her chest. She pulled down the collar of her shirt to see a deep red gash had appeared above her heart. She heard Etana howl in pain as the same scar appeared above her own heart.

"Do you swear to spend the rest of your life to aid of bringing peace between dragons and man?"

The pain of the cut began to increase until she thought that she would pass out. A thick beat seemed to pulse through the air. Loud thunder repeatedly clapped in the sky and the heat of the fire intensified until it felt like it would melt her flesh.

"Do you swear?" Hiccup shouted.

"...I swear." Astrid cried out as Hiccup carved another line into the box and an identical one appeared on her chest. The blood from the two cuts leaked down her chest and through her fingers as she held her hand to the scars.

"Do you swear to protect the brotherhood and keep its secrets with your life?" Hiccup shouted.

The pain kept building and building until she could feel nothing. Astrid silently nodded the pain rendering her speechless.

"Swear it!" Hiccup again shouted, he knew he could not carve the last tenant until she had sworn to uphold it. Astrid could do nothing but gasp for air as her very life force flowed from her body. Tears leaked from her eyes as she tried to open them. Her eyes searched for Hiccups, his eyes showed the fear he felt and the guilt for putting her through this. She would not let him blame himself for this, she was the one who wanted it and she would see it until the end.

"...I...swear-ar-ar-ar." She cried, and with that Hiccup thrust the final tenant into box and the last scar appeared above her heart. Everything stopped in that moment for Astrid. The pain in her chest ceased, the thunder stopped mid clap and the fire fell cold and silent. For that one moment, all was still.

"Now we'll see if she survives." Astrid heard Matt say. Before Astrid could question, she noticed a dark liquid start to fall from the dragons mouth at the hilt of the dagger, which Hiccup how held above the carvings. The liquid which Astrid recognised as blood, slowly leaked down the handle onto the metal surface and slowly fell down onto the carving. The moment the blood touch the wood pain exploded in Astrid's heart. She felt as every unfamiliar drop spread though out her whole body.

As the pain slowly faded, images started to flash through her mind. Hazy ones at first that didn't make sense, then they slowly became clearer. Lives of people who she didn't know flashed in her mind, their family and friends, their joining, their death. This happened for multiple different people, some showing more memories than others until she got to the people she recognised. She saw Lizzy stood beside an unknown man, her first meeting with Precious, when she met Hiccup, Jake and Matt and her joining. Other memories followed until they turned into Jacks. Jack with a young girl, him running away, him meeting Whiplash, him watching a girl die during the joining. Then Matt appeared in her mind, him learning about dragons, him meeting and training Hiccup, his happiness that Chaka had bonded with him and a strong feeling of guilt during his joining. Finally Hiccup appeared, she saw memoires of his time on Berk, his memories of her, when he first met Toothless and when he met Matt. Astrid tried to see his joining but the memory was fuzzy. Then suddenly everything started to build up in her mind all the memories and the pain, everything kept building and building on her until she collapsed.


	11. Surviving

It had been three hours since Astrid's joining and she still lay unconscious by the fire, Etana curled around her. Hiccup stood over her, watching her peaceful face as it hid the torment she was experiencing underneath. Hiccup couldn't help but remember his own joining, he never did forget the pain, the constant pressure that he felt above his heart which would only cease when dragons and men lived in peace, or if he was dead. Hiccup knew that this would not happen in his lifetime, but the harder he worked now the less people would suffer in the future.

Hiccup couldn't help but think that this was his fault. If he hadn't shown himself to her then she would never have been in the situation she was in now, on the cusp of life and death. But then if he hadn't of come Etana would be long dead and so would many future dragons. No, he realised, he had to come back to Berk, he couldn't let the dragons be treated this way any longer. But knowing this didn't make him feel any better about the situation Astrid was in. He stared down at her still body and prayed to every single God he'd ever heard off for her to pull through.

"Hey Hiccup," Matt said as he came up behind him. "I know you're worried about her, but there's nothing you can do about it now, it's in the hands of the Ancestors. But something that you can do to help the others is to tell us all you know about the situation with the dragons here so we can help them."

Hiccup just stared at Astrid for a long time, not even acknowledging Matt. Just as Matt was about to leave he heard Hiccups reply.

"Your right, there's a greater good here that I must help just as I swore I would." Hiccup tore his eyes away from Astrid and stood up to follow Matt over to where the others were sitting. They all sat down around the fire as they had done many times before to discuss dragon situations.

"Now," Hiccup began. "As I've said before Berks problem with dragons is unlike anything we've ever encountered. The dragons that attack Berk are being forced to by this… thing. A dragon of enormous size and power, unlike anything I've ever seen. If you concentrate hard on the beast within your blood, you can feel the almost pull that this dragon is sending out." Hiccup concentrated hard as did the others and all at once they felt this synchronised pull within them themselves. Hiccup downcast his eyes, not wanting to tell his friends the conclusion he had come to about this dragon.

"I believe that this dragon, this Red Death cannot be saved, and that the best solution is to destroy it so that it can no longer hold its power over any other dragons." Hiccup sighed.

"You can't be serious Hiccup; you know the Creed forbids us from harming any dragon." Jack said wide eyed.

"But this thing is unlike anything you have ever seen; I have seen this dragon eat other dragons. If we kill this dragon hundreds of future dragons will live free." Hiccup pleaded, he had not made this decision lightly, on the way to Berk he had barely thought of anything else, but the only answer that made sense was this.

"I think that we should see this Red Death before we make any final decisions." Matt said, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Hiccups suggestion, although after what Hiccup had said and the power this dragon seemed to posses, he doubted he would come to a different conclusion.

"I thought you would want to, so we will go as soon as possible. I don't want to delay this anymore than we need to." Hiccup said casting a glance to Astrid's still form.

"Hiccup," Matt said, "maybe we should go now so that if something happens then we can continue our work while you…grieve." He tried to make it sound like the situation was unlikely but he didn't quite succeed. Hiccup starred at Astrid's still form before turning away and walking towards Toothless. No matter his fears or feelings, the Creed came first. And the Creed demanded that Hiccup save these dragons and he couldn't do that sitting by Astrid's lifeless form. "Let's go." Hiccup said before Toothless jumped into the sky.

Jack watched as Hiccup and Toothless flew upwards and soon disappeared into the clouds. "We better pray that she makes it, otherwise we won't have a leader to lead us." He said nodding towards Astrid.

"Whether she makes it or not, every things going to change. And I doubt for the better." Lizzy replied starring longingly at where Hiccup disappeared.

xXx

Snotlout could not believe what he was seeing, he watched as seven Vikings wrestled a Monstrous Nightmare into pen, where a Gronkle and Hideous Zippleback where already chained up. It had been a long time since the dragon pens had seen any use, ever since Hiccup left. But Stoick decided that with the impending arrival of the neighboring clan, some dragons should be captured and then on the arrival of the clan, a giant celebration was to take place where the main event was to be a tournament involving the best fighters and the captured dragons.

Snotlout helplessly watched as the dragons were shoved into the pens. As he looked at them he couldn't help but think of everything he had learned about dragons in the last few days, the absolute devotion and loyalty that the dragons he had met ad shown to their riders and the riders in return. Snotlout knew that he had to do something, not just because he saw the injustice of it all but also because if Hiccup and others found out that he knew that three innocent dragons were going to be killed for entertainment, they would never forgive him.

Snotlout stood up from where he was perched on the seating of the arena and set off in search of the twins, Astrid and Fishlegs to tell them what was happening, then head to the cove and formulate a plan to rescue the dragons and hopefully still be alive at the end. He started walking in the direction of the docks hoping to find Tuffnut and Ruffnut fishing. But as he started walking he heard someone call after him.

"Snotlout...Oi stop there I gotta talk to yeh." Snotlout turned round to see Stoick marching towards him, a cold expression on his face. Snotlout quickly started to panic, imagining the worst of what the chief wanted to talk to him about, but then tried to reason with himself that he was future chief and that there were a lot of things that the present chief would want to talk to him about, or so he hoped.

"Yeh ok lad? Yeh look like yeh noggin's spinning?" Stoic stared at Snotlout as many expressions passed across his face; surprise, worry, guilt, anger and many others before reverting back to his normal vacant expression.

"No of course not sir, nothing going on in my noggin." Snotlout replied and then frowned realising that he had just insulted himself.

"Very well." Stoic replied suspiciously, but carried on. "Just wanted your opinion on the events planned for the Ash Warrior clans arrival?"

'Oh my Thor, he knows that I'm planning to rescue the dragons, he's going to kill me!' Snotlout thought to himself. 'OK gotta play this smart and act like I'm not secretly planning on betraying the entire tribe.'

"Well chief I think that the tournament is a brilliant idea, it means we'll be able to show off the superior strength our tribe and make them see how allying with us would benefit them. And that's why you're chief because you come up with all the best ideas, I mean really I have to applaud your choice in entertainment, it is inspired." Snotlout laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"Well...err... actually it was the elder's idea, I was originally really against it but she managed to persuade me. But I'm glad to see your...erm...happy with it. But I gotta ask lad, are ye ok your acting a bit...odd?"

"Me? I'm fine, never better." Snotlout replied trying (and failing) to act casual.

"Well, OK then." Stoick looked at Snotlout for a bit longer in which beads of sweat began to form on the future chief's forehead. But after a while Stoick walked off sacking his head.

'Thor that was close, but I think I managed to convince him nothing suspicious was going on.' Snotlout carried on walking towards the docks smiling to himself before he remembered why he was going to the docks, he then picked up the paste. However, luck seemed to be on his side as both the twins and Fishlegs were fishing when he arrived at the docks and thankfully there was no one else around.

"Hey guys," Snotlout called towards them, which caused the three of them to turn to him and wave, Snotlout bent down and whispered to them in case anyone came over.

"Listen, you know that another clan is coming tomorrow-" Snotlout started.

"Oh yeah, isn't it the one that Astrid's future husband belongs to? I still don't know how she's going to get out of that, but I know it's going to be funny to watch." Tuffnut laughed. Snotlout then hit him to get him to shut up.

"That's not important at the moment, what is important is the fact that Stoick has got three dragons caged up in the arena that he's planning of basically sacrificing to show off to the other clan. Now come on, we've got to find Astrid and then head over to the gorge to let Hiccup and the others know and hope they can do something to save them." Snotlout stood up and started walking off. He stopped when he realised that he friends weren't following him, he turned to see that they all had similar expressions of shock on their faces.

"Hurry up guys!" Snotlout urged. That seemed to snap them all out of their dazes and they jumped up and ran after Snotlout who was already halfway up the hill heading for Astrid's house. The four of them arrived panting outside the Hofferson house; they paused to catch their breaths before knocking. Astrid's mother Kenra the Battleborn answered the door.

"Good day kids, what can I do for you?" Kenra asked the out of breath teens on her door step. There was a moment of silence where all you could hear was Tuffnut muttering that they were no longer kids.

"We were just wondering if Astrid was in? And if not do you know where she is?" Ruffnut asked as politely as she could to try and hide her impatience.

"Well she's not here at the moment and come to think of it I haven't seen her all morning. But let me ask her Uncle." As she said that a huge form seemed to materialise behind her and Ingur the Greymane towered over the four of them.

"Ingur, do you know where Astrid is?" Kenra asked him.

"I heard her sneak out late last night, but apart from that no." Ingur said staring blankly down at his niece's friends."

The four friends looked at each other and nodded, all having the same idea as to where Astrid had snuck off to.

"Oh well never mind, I'm sure we'll find her." Ruffnut said taking a step back from the imposing couple.

"When you do tell her to get back here immediately, her future husband will be here tomorrow and she must be ready to receive him." Kenra said a slight sad tone to her voice.

"Ok we'll tell her." Ruffnut said before the four of them rushed off towards the forest. Kenra watched them head off into the forest.

"Don't you think Astrid has strange friends." She asked her brother. Ingur just grunted in response.

xXx

Astrid screamed in pain but she heard no sound come from her lips. Her entire body felt foreign to her, as if someone had placed her consciousness into another person's body. She could literally feel as every unfamiliar drop of blood coursed throughout her body, the pain was unbearable but yet she continued to live. Or maybe she was in Hel and her punishment was to exist until her judgment with the excruciating pain. But yet she could not bring herself to believe that she was dead, she felt a pull somewhere within her...in her blood?...No in her heart, she felt this ever present tug on her heart, it wasn't an unpleasant feeling and it was so faint that she almost didn't feel it due to the pain throughout the rest of the body. It definitely didn't hurt; it just felt empty like she was missing a piece. And that was why she refused to let the pain take over her, she was going to find that missing piece.

xXx

After Hiccup and his riders had scouted out dragon island, Hiccup had rushed back to the cove, leaving his friends to scout the rest of the labyrinth of rocks that made up Helhiem's Gate with the promise that they would return soon. Hiccup had been sitting with Astrid for what felt to him like days but in reality had on been an hour or two. Both Toothless and Etana hadn't left their riders sides.

Everything was still around that four of them, the wind ceased to blow, the clouds stopped moving blocking out the sun's rays and sound around them was mute as if Mother Nature herself was honoring the couple and waiting to see if Astrid would soon wake. Hiccup stared at Astrid and as each minute passed he lost more and more hope, he knew that he shouldn't, that at his own joining he was told that he slept for days before he awoke from joining. When compared to the seven or eight hours that Astrid head been sleeping for it was nothing. Yet Hiccup could not bring himself to care at that moment he just wanted her to wake.

Then suddenly everything seemed to happen at once to Hiccup, a gust of wind blew around him, the clouds began to move and the sun seemed to shine down them and noise erupted in the forest around them. Toothless and Etana jumped up, ears poked back frantically glancing around at the sudden motion. But Hiccup didn't notice any of that, because at that precise moment Hiccup felt this ... feeling, he couldn't think of any other way to describe it. But as he stared at Astrid's emotionless face he felt a tug at his heart, similar to the feeling he got when Toothless was faraway a kind of emptiness, but it felt different this time. He could literally feel Astrid's determination to make it through, make it back to him, to fill that emptiness.


	12. Rescue

"I swear to God Jack if you knock into me one more time, I'll castrate you in your sleep." Lizzy shouted as once again Whiplash steered into Precious's flight path. Jack just laughed but then looked at Lizzy's completely serious face and suddenly gulped in fear.

"You wouldn't really do that," Jack said more confidently then he felt. "Would you?"

"Are you willing to take that chance?" Lizzy questioned, pulling one of her knifes out of her robes and twirling it oh so innocently. Jack simply steered Whiplash away from Precious and Lizzy giving them a wide berth.

"You're a cruel women Elizabeth" Jack grumbled.

"You love me, really." She said in jest, but the atmosphere between them instantly changed. There was an awkward silence between them, neither sure what to say.

"If you too are done planning your date, maybe we should hurry back to camp it will be dark soon." Matt interrupted, who had been flying a bit ahead of Lizzy and Jack, laughing to himself at the oblivious couple.

"Um yeah, ok." Lizzy replied holding her hood down to hide even more of her face. Jack desperately trying to get rid of the awkwardness between them shouted. "Hey Lizzy, I'll race you. Ready,... Go!" Jack and Whiplash then sped off back to camp.

"Jack get back here, you cheater! You didn't say get set." Lizzy shouted hot and his heels. Matt and Chaka shared a knowing glance before speeding of after them, thanking the ancestors that they were too high in the sky for any of the islands inhabitants to hear them.

xXx

Just as the three of them were approaching the cove, Jack and Lizzy were too absorbed in their race to notice, but Matt saw Snotlout, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Ruffnut running towards camp. He thought it was odd that they would risk coming to them with the sky darkening rapidly. Jack and Lizzy had reached camp and were now arguing over who had won, Jack saying that he had reached the cove first but Lizzy claiming that she landed first. The two of them were so wrapped up in their argument that they didn't realise that they were literally standing only centimeters apart. Matt went over to stand next to Hiccup, who was watching Jack and Lizzy with an amused expression on his face.

"You know if they don't together soon, they'll end up killing each other before they realise they love each other." Hiccup whispered to Matt who nodded his head in agreement before saying, "Now I'm usually against messing with fate, I leave that in the hands of the ancestors, but I think in this case fate could use a little push, don't you agree."

"Oh definitely." Hiccup nodded before nodding his head at Toothless who took position behind Jack. "Wait for it..." Hiccup whispered waiting for just the right moment in Jack and Lizzy's argument. Jack and Lizzy still hadn't reached a conclusion about who had won, but by this point Hiccup doubted either of them cared. They both paused for breath while still glaring at each other, at this point Hiccup nodded at Toothless who using his head pushed Jack forward causing their lips to collide.

Jack stared wide eyed at Lizzy who stared wide eyed back. Neither had any idea how long they stayed that like that in probably the world's most awkward kiss, but eventually Jack decided to take action and closed his eyes and took control on the kiss and leaned closer into Lizzy, who realising what Jack was doing copied his movements. And just like that the world's most awkward kiss became the best one either of them had ever had. The kiss grew longer and longer, so long in fact that Hiccup and Matt were forced to give the two of them privacy and retreat back to the fire to sit.

After what felt like an eternity to them, was actually only about a minute, the kiss came to a natural end with both parties breaking away for air. And just like that the awkwardness came flying back to hit them both in the face. They jumped about a foot apart and refused to look at each other.

"Um... I've got to…go…over there." Jack said not moving his gaze away from a stone on the floor that he suddenly found very interesting.

"Yeah... And I need to sharpen Precious's claws." Lizzy said in a rush before walking off towards precious. Jack watched her leave with a sad look on his face before turning around, as he turned he caught Matt and Hiccup watching him with barely suppressed smiles and he blushed bright red before running over to Whiplash.

"Well that went better than I expected." Matt laughed, "I thought it would last four seconds before Lizzy slapped him."

"No she wants him, just as much as he wants her." Hiccup said in a mock wise voice. They laughed before falling into a comfortable silence both staring ahead of them. Matt glanced over at Astrid who was still lying off to the side of the fire with Etana wrapped around her. He glanced back at Hiccup and noticed that he seemed much more relaxed then when he had left him earlier.

"How is she?" Matt asked.

"She's going to make it." Hiccup said not even looking up but a smile growing on his face. Matt didn't want to say anything that might upset Hiccup, especially when he was doing a lot better than the day before, but he was worried that Hiccup may have gone a bit hysterical and convinced himself that she would survive, Matt hated to even imagine what the result would be if she did die.

"Not that I'm doubting you or anything," Matt said carefully, "But how do you know?"

"Relax Matt, I know you're worried that I've gone off the deep end but it's ok, just trust me that she's going to survive." Hiccup said turning to him and smiling reassuringly. Matt wanted to question Hiccup further in his sudden confidence in Astrid's survival but he heard Chaka start growling and he remembered that he'd seen the Vikings heading in their direction.

"Listen Hiccup we've got a bit of a problem, your Viking friends are on their way here and they might not be happy that we've put one of their friends in a coma." Matt said hurriedly to Hiccup, who began to look slightly worried as he gazed at Astrid.

"Can we just say she's sleeping?" Hiccup said, for lack of a better idea.

"And what if they say that she needs to go back to the village?" Matt asked, Hiccup looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head in defeat.

"We will just have to tell them the truth." Hiccups friends look briefly outranged at the thought of sharing their brotherhoods secret before Hiccup spoke again. "That it is a secret we are not at liberty to tell them."

"You really think they will be alright with an answer that vague?" Jack asked.

"Even if they aren't, there isn't anything they can do about it. I mean it's not like they can wake her up." Lizzy said.

"Unless anyone else has a better idea?" Matt asked, to which he received silence, "Then that's what we are saying." The four of them turned to the entrance of the cove and saw the Vikings walking over to them.

"Hey," Snotlout said in greating. "Where's Astrid? There's something we've all got to talk about."

Jack pushed Hiccup forward slightly a sign that he wanted Hiccup to explain the excuse for why Astrid was unconscious. "Astrid is…indisposed at the moment." Hiccup said, however he just received four blank looks in return. "She's in a coma."

"What?!" The four Vikings all shouted at once. "Why?" Fishlegs asked, "what happened to her?"

"I can't tell you." Hiccup replied and straight away he could see that they were not happy with his answer.

"Hiccup you can't just tell us that Astrid's in coma and not explain how or why." Ruffnut said.

"I'm sorry guys, but I can't tell you. Just know that it was something she chose and that she will be fine." The Viking's looked at each other, all unsure of what to make of the situation. Eventually Snotlout spoke up. "How long will she be out?"

"A couple of days." Matt replied. "Maybe less, maybe more."

"What?!" The Vikings shouted. "Her fiancé arrives tomorrow!" Snotlout said. "She's to be presented to him the moment he arrives."

"Well unfortunately she's not going to make it." Hiccup replied in a cold voice as he glared at Snotlout.

"I'm sorry Hiccup, I know it's not fair and I will do everything in my power to convince Stoick that he doesn't need the marriage to get the other clans support but if she's not there then people are going to come looking for her." Snotlout said.

"Wait..." Hiccup said, "My father is forcing Astrid into marrying this person? Not her parents?"

"Well no, her mother wasn't that pleased with it when she found out but Stoick didn't really give her much of a choice." Hiccup was silent for a moment as he processed this information; his father was always against arranged marriages believing that if a married couple didn't love each other then they wouldn't have strong children. Although that theory was flawed as Hiccup knew that his father loved his mother more than anything but Hiccup had never been strong enough for him. But Hiccup couldn't imagine his father being so desperate for help against the dragons that he would go back on his beliefs. Unless his leaving affected him more than he thought. Hiccup always believed that after he left his father would eventually forget about him, it's not like they had a particularly close relationship to start with but after what Hiccup did, he just assumed that Stoick would just one day forget him.

"It doesn't matter," Hiccup finally replied. "We can't wake her up."

Tuffnut looked like he didn't believe him and was going to argue, but Ruffnut interrupted him. "We can worry about that later, we actually had a reason for coming."

"Yeah," Snotlout said. "We need to rescue some dragons." That caught all the rider's attention.

"Why, what's the situation?" Hiccup said, his face setting into a stern expression.

"Well," Snotlout said, a bit taken aback by the arubt change in atmosphere. "... a Gronkle, a Hideous Zippleback and a Monstrous Nightmare were captured this morning, and tomorrow Stoick's planning on honoring the arrival of the other clan by having a show of some of the fighters against the dragons."

"Where are they being held?" Hiccup demanded.

"The arena." Snotlout replied obediently. Hiccup turned to Matt, Jack and Lizzy.

"We leave the moment, the last ray of day light fades. Lizzy you will head in first with Jack and take out any guards. Once there dealt with, Matt and Chaka will get the door open, try and keep it quiet to avoid attracting more guards. Toothless and I will head into the arena and calm the dragons and handle any injuries. We will then direct them to Lizzy and Precious who will guide them into the forest, try and stop them from flying off as they may try to attack the village. Jack, Whiplash, Matt and Chaka will make sure there's no trace of us being there."

The four of them split up, Matt grabbed his great sword from where he had embedded it in the ground and began to strap it to his back. Jack fastened an extra hidden blade to his left wrist and then flexed both to make sure that the blades were working properly. Lizzy began sliding throwing knives into the various different slots within the robes she wore checking to make sure that each was sharp enough to slice through skin. And finally Hiccup picked up his twin swords from where he had left them by the fire and slid them into their slots on his back. After each of them had checked their weapons they made their way to their dragons and began packing different strange equipment in to the saddles as well as extra weapons. The four of them pulled up their hoods, completely obscuring their faces and made to mount their dragons.

"Woah guys, hold your horses…er dragons." Snotlout announced.

"What?" Matt asked.

"You guys look like you're armed for war; you're not actually going to hurt anybody are you?" Fishlegs asked worriedly.

"Of course not." Lizzy replied slowly as if she was talking to a toddler.

"Oh thank Thor" Fishlegs sighed.

"If we come across anybody, we'll kill them." Lizzy said simply.

"What? No, you can't do that." Ruffnut shouted, "Those are our friends, you can't kill."

"Those dragons are our family and will not let them be harmed." Jack said his statement made scarier by the fact that you couldn't see his expression.

"Wait. I've got an idea that involves no killing and still saves the dragons." Tuffnut said, he stared at the hood Hiccup hid under hoping that they would hear him out. There was a tense moment where nobody moved or even breathed as they waited for Hiccups decision.

Hiccup slowly brought one of his hands up and pushed his hood off. "Make it quick we don't have much time." Hiccup finally said.

"Well there'll only have one or two guards stationed at the arena, plus the odd village patrol who will walk past every hour or so. When he comes by at the beginning of his patrol, its Maandaag so Asmund will be patrolling, Ruffnut will ask to accompany him on his patrol, he'll say yes because he loves to bore people to death with stories of his past glories. Fishlegs, Snotlout and I will dismiss the guards saying that we are the next shift to keep guard, there'll believe us if Snotlout says it. Snotlout will then become look out at the end of the bridge that leads to the arena, he is to distract anyone who wants to go to the arena, again they'll listen to him as he's future chief. You four will then go in and get the dragons, deal with injury's, calm them down and lead them away. You'll have about fifty or so minutes to do this before the night patrol completes his circuit. When they are near the bridge Snotlout will run down to us so we know the patrols coming. It will be Ruffnut's job to slow him down if we're not done, but you should have enough time. When the patrol gets to the arena Ruffnut will then tell Asmund she's tired and head home. He will then continue to repeat his patrol but by then we'll be gone. See no killing necessary, what do you think?" Tuffnut finished and anxiously awaited a reply.

"Wow" Ruffnut said, "I guess we know who got the brains out of the two of us." She laughed. Hiccup, Matt, Jack and Lizzy all exchanged glances, having their own private conversation without actually saying anything. The plan had a lot of external variables that they didn't like, such as having to rely on the guards believing Snotlout about the change in guard schedule, but they would prefer to kill as little people as possible and if the plan worked then they wouldn't kill any. And even if something did go wrong then Hiccup was sure they could handle it, so he didn't see a problem with trying to do it Tuffnut's way.

"Very well," Hiccup replied, "We will do it your way. But we need to hurry up. Fishlegs you can ride with me, Ruffnut with Matt, Tuffnut with Lizzy and Snotlout with Jack. Is that okay with everyone?" Everyone nodded in agreement and began to mount the dragons, the Vikings needing to be carefully instructed on what to do and how to sit by the riders. While the others were doing that Hiccup walked over to where Astrid still lay completely motionless, but he knew that as the tug on his heart lessoned she getting closer and closer to coming back to him. He bent down and kissed her softly and patted Etana's snout.

"Look after her girl." Hiccup whispered and Etana purred in response.

Hiccup stood up and saw that everyone was ready, he walked over to Toothless and patted the side on his head before climbing on his back and waited for Fishlegs to get on behind him. He then instructed Toothless to be slow and gentle before they all disappeared into the night.

xXx

The dragon riders hovered in the air above the arena and watched the Vikings they had just dropped off get into position. They used their enhanced sight to see that there was in fact three Vikings on guard by the arena instead of the two that Tuffnut had anticipated but they reasoned that it shouldn't make that much of a difference. They watched as the Viking on patrol, Asmund checked in with the arena guards to make sure all was well before heading back down the bridge that connected the arena to the rest of the village. Asmund got to the end of the bridge where Ruffnut 'just happened' to walk by, they conversed for a minute or two.

"Ruffnut is that you?" Asmund called out to the girl ahead of him.

"Yes it's me Asmund, I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd come and accompany you on patrol, must be pretty boring by yourself." Ruffnut replied in a sweet voice.

"Well that's very kind of you but you should be careful sneaking up on me, I could have had your head off. Speaking of which have I ever told you the story of the time I decapitated five men in one swing." Asmund asked, eager to retell one of his slightly edited stories.

"You know I don't think you have, but it sounds fascinating please do tell." Ruffnut gushed.

"Well, there I was…" Asmund trailed off as he and Ruffnut began their patrol, Ruffnut trying her best not look too bored and keep a slow pace.

Next Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout began to walk down the bridge towards where the three guards sat in the entrance to the arena. The three Vikings Alvi, Herlu and Sigfast who were on guard stood up when they saw the three of them walk up to them. "Hello, we're here to relieve you of guard duty." Snotlout said in his commander voice that he used in village meetings when he was trying so sound like he knew what he was talking about.

"But I thought we weren't to be relieved until another hour and that Asmund was going to pick up the next shift and bring them here on his patrol." Alvi questioned.

"Well Stoick and I as the Chief and future chief," He made sure to exaggerate future chief, "thought that shorter from frequent guard shifts would be more effective so were trialing it out. Is that a problem?" Snotlout demanded.

"Not a problem for me, it means that I can get back to bed sooner." Herlu laughed.

"Yeah," Sigfast laughed, "I'm heading home." The three of them bid goodbye before walking down the bridge and eventually split up heading to their different homes. When they were out of sight, Jack made a whistle noise to signal to Snotlout that it was safe for him to head down to his position as look out. After he was in position the four riders directed their dragons to the arena entrance that Fishlegs and Tuffnut had opened and flew into the arena as Fishlegs and Tuffnut closed the gate behind them to stop the dragons running for it. The riders dismounted their dragons and unloaded all the equipment they thought they might need such as sowing kits strong enough to sow dragon scales back together, bottles of different medicinal salves, some dragon grass to give the dragons to keep them calm and anything else they might need.

"What do you want to do, open them all at once which will be faster but could make them panic or open each pen one by one, which would be safer but will take longer. Remember we've got a time limit which at this moment is...53 minutes." Matt asked Hiccup.

"We'll do them individually, it may take longer but I don't want to risk attracting the entire village down here. And if we run out of time we go back to the original plan." They all nodded in agreement and made their way to the first pen. Hiccup directed the dragons to stand in front of the door but not too close as to make the other dragon think they were ganging up on it. Hiccup pulled the leaver to the pen and the door slowly opened to reveal a Gronkle lying in the corner. At the sound of the door opening it turned its head and looked towards the door. Upon seeing the other dragons, it stood up and lazily flew over towards them to discover what was happening. As it reached the doorway it spotted the four humans and began growling and retreating back into the pen. Toothless started to growl in the native dragon language of dragoneese, the Gronkle growled back but eventually came out of the pen entirely. Hiccup stood next to Toothless, removed his hood and slowly approached. The other dragons offered words of encouragement as the Gronkle allowed Hiccup closer. Hiccup examined the Gronkle and found that apart from a few minor sword and axe scratches that would scale over naturally the Gronkle was perfectly fine and went and sat to one side to wait for the other dragons to be rescued.

"Time check" Hiccup whispered to Matt.

"42 minutes."

'Well if the next two go just as well then we'll be out of here in plenty of time" Hiccup thought. One down, two to go.

xXx

"-so then this damsel is screaming save me Asmund, save me. So of course me being the extremely heroic man that I am, I ran up to the beast and with my hammer wracked it across the face. It howled in pain under the power of my swing, but then charge at me. I threw down my hammer and grabbed it by the teeth and then using my awesome strength threw it off the cliff. Definitely one of my finer battles, single handedly taking down two Monstrous Nightmares and a Gronkle with a broken leg, don't you think?" Asmund asked.

"Amazing..." Ruffnut drawled not even bothering to hide the boredom in her voice anymore, Asmund was so far up himself he didn't even notice.

"After that the damsel was very grateful, if you get what I mean. Very grateful..." Asmund trailed off into his memories.

xXx

Hiccup used the same tactic of placing the dragons in front of the pen when it first opened as it worked well with the Gronkle. Jacked pulled down the leaver and the moment the doors started to open a thick green fog began to flow out.

'Guess this one's the Zippleback.' Hiccup thought. They all waited anxiously for the second head to set fire to the gas, but as seconds ticked by nothing happened and eventually the gas cleared away to reveal the Zippleback. Straight away you could see something was wrong, one head stood tall hissing at the intruders whereas the other lay flat on the ground clearly in pain. Hiccup figure out what the problem was right away; its right shoulder was dislocated and was pressed against the scales in an odd shape resulting in it not being able to take the weight of the right head and neck. Hiccup knew they were going to have to start working fast if they were going to make their time limit.

"Matt you come with me, were going to pop the shoulder back in. Jack, grab some dragon grass and block of wood to put in its mouth to stop it biting its tongue and try and get it to relax. Lizzy same tactic grab some grass and keep the left head occupied." Hiccup ordered. Jack and Lizzy grabbed the correct gear and slowly approached the Zippleback holding the dragon grass in front of them. Some time after the dragon was suitably drugged and the wood placed in it mouth. Hiccup and Matt got to work straight away. Matt used his knees to trap its front right claw down to stop it moving and grabbed the dragons Clavicle and braced it. Hiccup then grabbed hold of the shoulder bone and in one smooth motion pushed it back into the joint. The only sound was of the wood snapping as the dragon bit it in two on reflex, but apart from that it was silent.

"Matt, I think you and Chaka should take this dragon now as it won't do the joint any good if we force it to run with us after we free the last dragon. You should take it now where we still have a lot of time before the patrol gets back." Hiccup said.

"Are you sure you don't need me to stay? Chaka can take the dragon." Matt asked.

"No you should go with them back to camp and do your best to ease the pain when the dragon grass wears off." Hiccup reasoned.

"Ok then." Matt replied. With that Toothless and Precious helped to get the drugged dragon to lay its right side on Chaka's back and then the two of them limped out with Matt following after them.

"Time check." Hiccup asked.

"20 minutes."

xXx

Fishlegs and Tuffnut stood nervously in the entrance to the arena, both thinking about what they would do if Snotlout let someone past.

"Umm...Tuffnut?" Fishlegs whispered.

"What?" Tuffnut replied not taking his eyes of the bridge ahead.

"Do...um you...that is to say...um...do you really think that Hiccup would have let Jack and Lizzy kill his fellow Vikings?"

"There not his fellow Vikings anymore though are they? Hiccup left because he didn't want to be a Vikings so why should he feel any kinship towards them? And besides a lot of the Vikings he knew aren't even alive anymore because of Stoicks mad obsession."

"Yeah but there still people and he shouldn't just kill them, its barbaric."

"And we shouldn't just kill dragons but we do, is that any less barbaric?"

"But they're animals, not people." Fishlegs urged, not understanding why Tuffnut was justifying what Hiccup was going to do.

"But I don't think Hiccup sees the difference anymore and to tell you the truth the line between man and dragon is becoming a bit blurry to me as well. I mean when you watch Hiccup and Toothless, when they just stare at each other you can just tell that there having a conversation without even speaking and to me that shows more intelligence than any human."

"But-"

"Listen I'm not saying that it's okay to go round killing people, especially my tribe. Come on I'm the one who came up with the plan to stop them from killing anyone, but if dragons were holding your friend's hostage and planning to kill them for entertainment wouldn't you do whatever was necessary to save them?" Tuffnut said in a strangely thoughtful voice.

"I suppose... I never really thought of it that way before." Fishlegs collapsed into silence contemplating what Tuffnut had said. A couple of minutes later they heard a commotion at the door, they opened it and saw Matt's dragon Chaka with a Zippleback limping at its side. Matt walked up to them and explained what was happening. "This dragon had dislocated its shoulder and so Hiccup thought it best to help it leave now instead of waiting and risking it slow us down. Hiccup and the rest and dealing with the last dragon, which hopefully won't take too long but be ready in case time runs out. The Gronkle seems to be okay so it should just be the Nightmare left and they are slow to trust, so be careful when it out try to stay where it can see you." Chaka, supporting the majority of the Zippleback's weight guided it to the forest, with Matt following closely behind. Tuffnut felt horrible for the Zippleback, he assumed that if it wasn't really drugged which he figured out by the dazed look on its faces, it would be screaming in pain. It almost felt like Tuffnut could physically feel the dragon's pain.

"20 minutes left, I hope Ruffnut can slow Asmund down." Fishlegs whispered.

xXx

"In the last pen should be the Nightmare, this will probably be the hardest, as Nightmares are very distrustful even of other dragons, so be ready make sure there's nothing in your hands and hold them out." Hiccup then pulled the lever, the moment the locks moved the doors burst open and the Nightmares head flew out, mouth ready to breathe fire at the intruders. But the moment the Nightmare saw what was outside the door it stopped, closed its mouth and bowed its head.

Hiccup was very confused by this behavior as it wasn't normal for a Nightmare. He slowly approached the dragon and it made no aggressive noises and change to an aggressive stance. It just watched Hiccup approach, completely at ease with Hiccup being close to it. A theory suddenly struck Hiccup but he found it very unbelievable. To test his theory, he held out one of his hands palm face down just above the dragon's nose, as if it knew what Hiccup was trying to figure out it lifted its head slightly so Hiccups hand was resting on its nose.

"No way." Hiccup laughed.

"What is it?" Lizzy asked, unsure of what was going on.

"This is the same Nightmare I was supposed to kill as reward for placing first in dragon training, the same Nightmare who I tried to use to show Berk that dragons didn't need to be feared. This is amazing." Hiccup laughed stroking the dragon.

"Come on let's pack up and get going so were long gone by the time the patrol gets here. It took them a few more minutes to pack up all the equipment and to guide the dragons towards the exit.

"Time check." Hiccup asked.

"10 minutes until the patrol completes its circuit." Jack said as everyone started making their way out of the arena, just as they saw two people running down the bridge.

xXx

'Oh Thor this is nerve wracking.' Snotlout thought to himself. He had been incredibly jittery for the past 40 minutes or so and he hadn't even seen anyone. He didn't even expect to see anyone; he was only there to get rid of that 'what if someone else comes to the arena?' But no expected anyone to, but you can't be too careful. Just as Snotlout as starting to except the fact that he wasn't going to see anyone and was finally managing to calm down, he saw a figure coming from the opposite direction of where the patrol should come from and plus it was only one person.

"Snotlout, is that you?" A voice he knew all too well purred out.

"Laufiea? What are you doing out so late? And where have you been, you live at the top of the village not the bottom?" Which was the direction she had come from.

"Never mind little old me," She deflected, "Why are you stood here at this time of night?" After 40 or so minutes of planning what to say if someone asked him that, he couldn't think of a single reason.

"I...um...well..." Snotlout stammered.

"Oh I don't care, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages." She said as she wrapped her arms around Snotlout's neck and weaved her hands into his hair. "I've missed you." She whispered into his ear, before trailing kisses down his cheek.

'Keep a lookout!' Snotlout repeated to himself over and over again as Laufiea get placing light kisses over his face.

"Snotlout, are you there?" A quite voice said from the direction blocked by Laufiea's head, Snotlout pulled away from her and looked at where the voice had come from.

"Rowanna?" Snotlout rushed over to her. The girl Snotlout had called to was positively tiny by Viking standards, only just reaching Snotlout's shoulders. However, the enormous mop of frizzy red hair that tumbled down her back gave the illusion that she was larger than she was. Snotlout grabbed her by the shoulders, tucked a strand of her frizzy red hair behind her ear and looked down at her.

"What are you doing out? Does my mother know? She should be taking care of you." Snotlout said, shaking her slightly.

"Your mother doesn't know I'm out, she thinks I'm in bed. And I was worried when you didn't come home, so I thought I'd come look for you, but your... um busy. So I'll go." Before Snotlout had a chance to respond Laufiea beat him to it.

"Yeah why don't you run along, its adult time." She said in a really patronizing tone. Rowanna just glared back and tried to release herself from Snotlout's grip.

"Don't talk to her like that." Snotlout said with barley suppressed anger in his voice.

"What?" Laufiea said, "I thought we were going to make up for not seeing each other in ages."

"I'm busy." Snotlout replied glaring at her. "So why don't you head home. Now."

"Fine, whatever but don't think I'll wait around for you." Laufiea called as she walked way. There was silence between Snotlout and Rowanna as Snotlout glared at where Laufiea had disappeared into the dark and Rowanna was still trapped by Snotlout's grip on her arm.

"Um... Snotlout are you ok?" She asked in her quite voice. That seemed to shake Snotlout out of his daze and he turned to stare at Rowanna, but he still didn't reply. Rowanna was about to speak up but Snotlout just pulled her into a hug and didn't let go. Rowanna unsure what to do just hugged him back. They stayed like that for a while, before Rowanna noticed a glowing light approaching.

"Um... Snotlout some people are coming." Rowanna said.

"What?" He asked pulling away, blushing slightly. Rowanna just pointed to where the glow of a torch could be seen behind some house.

"Oh shit, he's 10 minutes early." Before Rowanna could ask him what he was talking about, he grabbed her hand and started to run along the bridge towards the arena.

xXx

Hiccup watched as Snotlout and a girl he didn't recognise ran up to them, he made sure to quickly pull his hood up, as did Jack and Lizzy.

"Asmund...10 min...utes...earl...ly" Snotlout panted out of breath, the girl with him equally so but remained quite.

"Oh crap, Tuffnut get down there and stall them, say you're mad at Ruffnut for running off." Hiccup ordered.

"Got it." Tuffnut said before running off.

"Snotlout come grab something." Hiccup directed and walked back into the arena. Rowanna wasn't sure what to do as Snotlout followed the strange man into the arena, so she stayed were she was. But the moment Snotlout emerged, his hand resting on a Monstrous Nightmares nose she promptly fainted.

"Oh crap." Snotlout said as he went to lift Rowanna into his arms. Meanwhile Lizzy, Jack and Fishlegs led the Gronkle, Precious and Whiplash out of the arena and towards the forest. The glow of the torch was now visible on the other side of the bridge but was remaining stationary.

"What do I do? I can't carry her and guide the Nightmare." Snotlout said, starting to panic.

"It's ok, we'll strap her onto Toothless and he'll take her back to camp." Hiccup lead Toothless over to Snotlout who laid Rowanna across the saddle. "Take care of her." Snotlout said to Toothless, before Toothless flew off back towards camp. Snotlout guided the Nightmare into the forest just enough to keep it hidden before running back with Fishlegs to take up their role as guards. They managed to get back into the arena entrance just as the glow of the torch started moving down the bridge towards them. The only problem was that Hiccup was still with them.

"Quick," Snotlout whispered, "get into the arena." Hiccup squeezed through the tiny gap of the door before Fishlegs closed it, just as Asmund and the replacement guards walked in.

"Oh Snotlout, Fishlegs. I thought we were relieving Alvi, Herlu and Sigfast?" One of the replacement guards who Hiccup didn't see asked.

"No, just Fishlegs and I." Snotlout replied. "Anyway we better head off home and get some sleep."

"Yes and take Tuffnut and Ruffnut with you, they are...they were behind me." Asmund said in a confused voice.

"We'll go look for them," Fishlegs said. "Bye." With that Snotlout and Fishlegs ran off before circling back round into the forest to meet up with the dragons and head back to camp. The next moment was silent and Hiccup held his breath hoping that the guards didn't want to check inside, he was doing so well not killing anyone. Time passed and the two guards carried on talking in the entrance. Hiccup relieved moved away from the wall and look around, he remembered the last time he was here like it was yesterday. As her circled round he saw everyone's shocked faces after he denied that he was a Viking, he saw the indent his father's hammer made when he slammed it down on the bars and he saw the repaired hole where Toothless broke in to rescue him. If he closed his eyes he could almost hear his father's voice.

"Well, Well, what do we have here?"


	13. Sanctuary

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Hiccup turned towards the voice and saw Stoick stood in the exact same place he stood the last time Hiccup was in the arena.

"If I'm not mistaken it's that dragon sympathiser who jumped off a cliff because he was too scared to fight like a man." Stoick shouted, which attracted the attention of the guards outside who came rushing through the entrance. The moment they spotted the hooded figure they drew out their weapons and stood blocking the arenas only exit. Hiccup unconsciously moved into the most defensive position he could manage in a circular room and made sure his hood was pulled down.

"Did the last guard shift say they saw any suspicious activity?" Stoick asked one of the guards that Hiccup didn't recognise.

"Nothing sir." The guard replied. "He must have snuck in during the switch over, sir."

"Hold him there, I'm coming in. Don't let him escape." Stoick ordered before turning and disappearing out of sight. Hiccup turned towards the two guards who hadn't moved from their position by the door. Hiccup realised that he needed to take the two guards out and then make a run for it before Stoick made it to the entrance. Hiccup started to take a step forward drawing out his swords, however as he made to attack he suddenly felt a shift in the air, he looked between the two Vikings and saw that the air between them had started to shimmer and a thick grey smoke started to seep into the arena. The two Vikings began to panic.

"What's going on? Where's this smoke coming from?" One of them shouted at where they had last seen the hooded figure as the thick smoke had obscured their vision so much that they couldn't see him anymore. Neither of them noticed the black figure that had materialised between them until it was too late and the figure has grabbed their heads, banging them together and knocking them out. The figure walked forward holding out his hand where a small ball of light seemed to be absorbing the thick smoke that appeared. The figure walked forward until he was stood in front of Hiccup.

"Pavlo? What are you doing here?!" Hiccup whispered, looking at the two Vikings that had passed out behind him. The man Hiccup had identified as Pavlo was a tall man, who looked about early thirties in age. He wore dark red armor that looked it was made from dragon scale and held a blood crimson sword in one hand. The man wore a hard expression on his face as he stared at Hiccup, the air around him seemed to pulse with power as the last of the smoke was sucked into the ball of light in Palvo's hand before he closed his fist and the ball of light disappeared.

"We need to talk." Was all he said as an explanation.

"What have you done?!" Stoick shouted as he entered the arena to see the two guards passed out on the floor and the dragon sympathizer stood in the same place with a man he hadn't seen before stood in front of him. Palvo turned his head slightly to look at Stoick over his shoulder before immediately dismissing him and turning back to Hiccup. "Hurry up with this." Palvo said to Hiccup as the air behind Palvo started to shimmer like it did before Pavlo appeared, he then took a step back and simply disappeared though the shimmering air.

'I hate it when he does that.' Hiccup thought.

"Who was that? Where did he go? Answer me!" Stoick shouted as he advanced towards Hiccup with his hammer in hand.

"It doesn't matter." Hiccup replied taking a step back. At the village he could hear the signs of movement, probably coming to investigate the screaming and shouting. Hiccup knew he had to leave soon, or risk fighting with half the village. Stoick had stopped a short distance from Hiccup, his need to kill the man in front of him didn't cloud his battle training, he knew charging at the man head on would be a mistake so he took the time to analyze his opponent. The man was quite tall, only slightly shorter than Stoic himself. He didn't have massive muscles like a Viking but Stoic knew he was strong and relied on his speed and agility as well as strength to defeat his opponents. He held his twin swords out in front of him, ready to block any attack Stoic made. Stoic had to admit to himself that the man's fighting stance was flawless; he stood perfectly on balance and managed to keep an eye on his surroundings. But Stoic had years of experience in fighting that he could use to his advantage.

"Why are you here?" Stoic asked.

"To open your eyes to the truth about dragons." Hiccup replied. Stoick faltered momentarily as an image of Hiccup in this very arena flashed through his mind. But he didn't have time to think about it any further because he heard other Vikings coming down the bridge. Stoic thought he saw the man in front of him get distracted by the sound of the approaching Vikings, so he made his move. Stoick lunged forward using his long arms to swing his hammer against the man's swords. The man blocked the attack easily and then countered using Stoics momentum to side step him and then push him forward so he lost his footing. Stoic expecting an attack like this, quickly spun around and threw his hammer at the man. Hiccup rolled to move out the path of the hammer but didn't see Stoic throw himself at Hiccup and tackle him to the ground. Hiccup managed to trick Stoic into balancing his weight on one arm, and then elbowed that arm causing Stoic to fall to one side. Hiccup jumped up and then held one of his swords to Stoic's throat.

"Do it fast if you have any honor." Stoick said, closing his eyes. Hiccup stared down at his father and couldn't bring himself to do it. He was about to pull back the sword, when suddenly a net was thrown over him and he was pulled back. He had been so focused on the battle with Stoick that he had forgotten about the approaching Vikings. It was a stupid rookie mistake that may cost Hiccup his identity and his life. Two Vikings grabbed Hiccup by the arms, another took the net off him and two others helped Stoick up. Stoic pushed the Vikings out of the way and marched towards Hiccup. Everyone was so focused on Stoic and Hiccup that no one noticed the air behind Hiccup began to shimmer and an arm reach out of nowhere that grabbed the back Hiccups robes and pulled him backwards. Before any of the Vikings knew what had happened Hiccup was simply gone.

xXx

Hiccup hated the feeling of travelling through dimensions, it was something that he had never gotten used to despite his long travels with Pavlo. To Hiccup it always felt like your insides stayed at one end until you came out the other side and then your insides had to catch up with you by slamming back into you. Needless to say he didn't like doing it, especially when he wasn't expecting it. The force of being pulled through a dimension gate caused Hiccup to fall backwards onto the ground, which wasn't the rough sand of the arena, but soft grass of a meadow.

"What the hell happened?! I told you to be quick, but not only did you take ages but you nearly got caught. You're lucky I was keeping an eye on you." Pavlo shouted at the mess that was Hiccup spread out on the floor. Hiccup remained silent and didn't look at Pavlo as he slow got up and dusted himself off.

"Come on Hiccup tell me what went wrong. I've seen you go into battles ten times harder than that and emerge unscarred." Palvo said bending forward to try and look in Hiccup's eyes.

"I let the past cloud my judgement...I...hesitated." Hiccup whispered, turning his head away in shame.

"Is it because you think they're your family?" Pavlo asked, to which Hiccup nodded and said, "But its not just that, staring down at my father I couldn't help but feel weak like I used to be."

"You must let go of your past Hiccup, you are not that person anymore and you must believe that you were never weak. Do you really think that a great beast such as a Night Fury, one of the most powerful dragons in existence would bond to someone they thought were weak?" Almost as if knowing that he was being talked about, Toothless ran into the meadow straight towards Hiccup and jumped on him licking his face. Hiccup laughed before swatting him away. Toothless smiled before taking a step back. Pavlo smiled at the display of affection between dragon and rider. Pavlo had seen many partnerships in his long existence but never one as strong as Hiccup and Toothless'.

Pavlo's expression then turned serious and he looked at Hiccup.

"Hiccup you know that you cannot show mercy to anyone who puts you or a dragon's life in danger. I appreciate that this may be hard for you since these are ties to your former life but now you follow the Creed. If the choice between a dragon and someone from your previous life arises, you know what must be done."

"But there my family."

"No they are not anymore, this is your family." Pavlo grabbed Hiccup and placed his hand above Hiccups heart. Hiccups scars began to heat up and in that moment Hiccup could feel every dragon in the world, he could feel as each beat of their hearts matched his own.

"Dragons rely on us as their brothers and sisters to protect them from the ignorance of man and that is what you must do. Understood?" Pavlo asked taking his hand away from Hiccups heart. Hiccup nodded in response finally looking in to Pavlo's eyes. There was silence between them for a moment before Hiccup spoke up. "You never did say why you're here."

"What you mean apart from saving you." Pavlo laughed, causing Hiccup to glare at him.

"Why do you think?" Pavlo asked sarcastically. Hiccup thought for a moment before the realisation dawned on him.

"You felt Astrid's joining." Hiccup stated.

"Yes and I must say I was surprised when the Nadder chose her to bond with, most unusual for a Viking to become a rider." Hiccup remained silent.

"She feels very strongly about you. I haven't decided if that's a good or bad thing yet, but time will tell. Now I think it's time for you to get back, your friends are starting to worry. I was intending on going to see Matt, Jack and Lizzy but with your other guests I think I'll wait for another time." Pavlo laughed, giving Hiccup a hug.

"Would you like me to drop you off?" Pavlo asked waving his arm and causing the air next to him to shiver indicating a dimension portal. Hiccup turned to Toothless who shook his head profusely, growling at the portal.

"No it's ok, we'll fly back." Hiccup laughed mounting Toothless.

"Very well," Pavlo said, "Goodbye Hiccup, Toothless. May you live as one."

"May we all live as one." Hiccup replied as Pavlo disappeared and Toothless flew off.

xXx

By the time Hiccup and Toothless had arrived back at the cove everyone else was already there. Matt was tending to the Zippleback with Ruffnut and Tuffnut, Fishlegs was sat on a rock scribbling down every little thing that the dragons did, Jack and Lizzy were unloading the dragons and blushing like crazy whenever they reached for the same thing and their hands touched and finally Snotlout was sat next to the girl that had fainted when she saw the dragons rocking himself backwards and forwards anxiously waiting for her to awaken. Hiccup assumed that the girl was Rowanna from the vague description Snotlout had given about her the other day, what really gave it away was the long flowing red hair that went half way down her back, which Snotlout kept stroking. Hiccup thought that she was a little on the small side for a Viking but then laughed at himself thinking he's one to talk. As Hiccup climbed off Toothless just as Matt, Jack and Lizzy came over to see him.

"What happened, when you didn't arrive with Snotlout, Fishlegs and Tuffnut we got worried?" Lizzy said, fussing over Hiccup.

"Well, I ended up getting locked in the arena and nearly getting killed by my father. But apart from that it when fine. And by the way Pavlo says hi." Hiccup replied.

"Pavlo? What was he doing here?" Jack asked.

"He felt Astrid's joining and wanted to come and make sure I was alright being here, you know with my past and all." Hiccup shrugged.

"Well apart from that I would say that the plan was a success. We got all three dragons out, only one major injury that's healing nicely and no casualties." Matt said. "Hiccup can I have a word with you in private."

"Sure." Hiccup said, walking away from Jack and Lizzy, who gave them strange looks.

Hiccup walked over to where Astrid and Etana lay, he petted Etana's snout, noticing that her spear wound had healed nicely, she should be able to fly soon when Astrid woke. He bent down to stroke Astrid's hair and then gave her a kiss on the forehead before turning back to Matt.

"What's up?" Hiccup asked sitting down.

"Well I just thought you should know that the three dragons we rescued have become extremely close with our Viking friends. The Gronkle has been studying Fishlegs almost as intently as Fishlegs has been studying the Gronkle. Tuffnut has yet to leave the Zippleback's right head and Ruffnut is the same with the left and finally the Nightmare hasn't moved from its position curled around Snotlout and that girl in the last hour. I have a good feeling that the Vikings and dragons can live in peace here, you should be proud." Hiccup smiled at the complement that Matt had given his home but couldn't help but remember what Pavlo had said. Hiccup looked back at Matt and saw the Matt's attention was on Ruffnut who was softly singing to the Zippleback.

"She's single." Hiccup said a sly smile on his face. Matt turned back to Hiccup and would have blushed if his dark skin allowed it.

"Go talk to her, I'll be fine here with Toothless." Hiccup patted Toothless' head for emphasis. Matt laughed at Hiccup trying to act casual and got up and started to walk over to Ruffnut. She saw him coming and smiled at him as she continued to stroke the left Zipplebacks head. Matt sat down next to Ruffnut and was about the say something when suddenly the right head moaned in pain. The head that was in Ruffnut's lap shot up and began to whine as it rubbed itself against the other head.

"I feel sadder for this head rather than the other head." Ruffnut confessed.

"Whys that?" Matt asked interestedly.

"Imagine being part of a team for your entire life and then one of you dies and you are left alone. Sure you feel bad for the one that died but surly its worse for the one that has to carry on by themselves." The whole time Ruffnut had been talking she was looking at Tuffnut.

"What happened?" Matt asked taking one of her hands in his, his thumb stroking her palm.

"A few weeks ago, Stoick the chief was organising a hunt for the...nest," She whispered. "And Stoick told Tuffnut that he was going with them but two days before they set off I fell out a tree and hurt my arm, so he refused leave Berk. He tried to convinced everyone that it wasn't because of me because he didn't want to be seen as soft, but I knew." Ruffnut started to tear up so Matt grabbed her by the shoulders and laid her head on his shoulder. "The boats left and then a week later only half came back. And right then I realised that I don't know what I'd do if I lost him. I mean I know we fight all the time but he was always there."

"It's ok." Matt said, "You'll always have him."

"How do you know?"

"Because as well as having each other you have these two." He said indicating to the two dragon heads. Ruffnut stared at the Zippleback and then Tuffnut and a smile spread across her face.

"You two are going to have to think of names." Matt said louder so that Tuffnut could hear as well and at the exact same moment the two twins pulled the exact same thinking expression and Matt just laughed at the two of them.

Meanwhile Snotlout still hadn't left Rowanna's side and the Nightmare who Snotlout had already named Hookfang. Just as Snotlout was beginning to doze off Rowanna began to stir.

"Snotlout?..." She whispered trying to push herself up.

"Yes, I'm here. Its ok, take it easy." He said easing her up.

"What happened? I thought I saw...Dragons!" Rowanna shouted, pointing to Fireworm's head that was behind Snoutlout. She looked around and saw that this dragon was trapping her and Snotlout with its body. She saw her bow and arrows, laid next to her, she went the grab them but Snotlout got them first and held them out of her reach.

"Rowanna, do you trust me?" Snotlout asked.

"Of course." She replied without pausing.

"Just relax while I explain what's happening. OK?" Rowanna stared at Snotlout who still held her weapon out of her reach, she then looked at the Nightmare who was staring at her with what could only be described as puppy dog eyes.

"Ok." She said finally, sitting down and letting Snotlout explain.

xXx

"So let me get this straight. That guy over there is Hiccup, as in the Chiefs son Hiccup. The other three people in hoods are his new friends Jack, Lizzy and Matt, who are all dragon riders and are followers of some kind of Creed that were not allowed to know about. Astrid found out that Hiccup was Hiccup and then told you guys so now you're all friends and now believe that killing dragons is wrong. Astrid and Hiccup are now a couple, except she's engaged to someone else who's arriving in Berk tomorrow, but she's in a coma and so she can't meet him. You then broke into the arena and set free three dragons including this Nightmare which you named Hookfang. Did I get it all?" Rowanna finally finished, pointing at the various different people as she mentioned them before finally resting her hand on Hookfang's head.

"Yep, that's it in a nut shell. Now I can totally understand if you want to run back to the village and tell on us. I won't let you, but I understand if you want to." Snotlout laughed.

"Well I won't lie, it did cross my mind but.." Rowanna moved her hand from Hookfang's head and grabbed Snotlout's hand and cradled it in hers. "I trust you."

Hiccup stared around at all of his friends and family and wished that this moment could last a bit longer because tomorrow everything was going to get a whole lot more complicated


	14. Awakening

It was past mid day before ships were sighted on Berks horizon indicating the arrival of the Ash Warrior tribe. The Ash Warriors were renown throughout the nearby continent of Ferelden as fierce, elite warriors who used their vicious mabari war dogs in battle. They typically worked as mercenaries and inspired fear against any enemy they encountered. The Vikings of Berk crowded along the docks to welcome the fellow warrior tribe to their home. Stoickk stood on the edge of the pier and waited for the ships to dock. Astrid's mother Kenra walked up to Stoickk and cleared her throat.

"Have you found her?" Stoickk asked, his eyes never leaving the ship before him.

"No, I can't find her anywhere in the village and I haven't seen her in nearly three days. I'm really starting to worry that something has happened to her." Kenra replied, her usually strong face showing the faintest cracks of worry.

"I will try and stall them from seeing her, that won't work for long. You have to find her soon. Go find her friends and see if they know where she is. And while you're at it find Snotlout, he should be here as future chief to greet our guests." Stoick said in a hushed tone so no one else would know that they were in the middle of a crisis.

"They were looking for her the other day and they said they had an idea of where she was. I'll go look for them." Kenra quickly left the chiefs side and hurried back up to village. She was halfway there before the Ash Warrior tribe chief came face to face with Stoick.

"Good day to you. I am Stoick the Vast, Chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe. Welcome to Berk." Stoick said to the fellow chief.

"Good day to you Stoick, I thank you for inviting us to your home. I am Bolmor and this is my mabari Dane." Bolmor replied in a monotone voice, his eyes never wavering from Stoick's. Bolmor himself was relatively short by Viking standards and so had to look up to meet Stoick's eyes, but this didn't seem to bother him as he stood tall and proud before the crowd of Vikings. He had a large round shield strapped to his back and an iron long sword attached at his hip. His armor was of the traditional Ash Warrior style, consisting of crossing leather strips across his chest and a thick leather skirt. He wore an emotionless expression on his face which only enhanced the large ugly looking scar travelling along his cheek. The dog Dane was about half the size of his master and was a sandy brown colour. Although this was hard to tell because of the various patches of paint that formed a pattern over the dog's body. During the two chiefs greeting a young man had approached from the nearby ship. He bore a remarkable resemblance to Bolmor and so could only be his son. However, where as Bolmor's face was hardened by decades of the life of a mercenary, his sons face was soft and scarless, which plainly showed the entitled life he had lived as the chief's son.

Bolmor heard his sons approach and inwardly signed, he was hoping that his son would stay back for the time being so he analyse the other tribe and find out how committed Stoick was to the arranged marriage. He knew he was being naive in his hope that his son and his betrothed would spend as little time as possible together before their marriage. It's not that he thought that his son would cause trouble; it's that he knew he would.

"Stoick, allow me to introduce my second son, Skorm." Bolmor said indicting with his hand to Skorm. "And Skorm this is Stoick, our most gracious host." Bolmor quickly sent a silent prayer to Hircine the Dog Lord that his son would for once be respectful.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Where's this fiancé of mine? She better be pretty." Skorm said looking around trying to find his future wife.

Stoick could hardly believe the blatant disrespect that this Skorm had just showed him. He was glad that his son at least knew his manners...not that he had a son anymore. Bolmor looked equally as angry at what his son had done. He looked down at Dane and nodded his head. Dane then grabbed hold of Skorm's leather skirt and dragged him back towards the boat, all the while Skorm shouting obscenities at Dane.

"My apologies for my son's behavior, he is just anxious to meet this... Astrid was it?" Bolmor said, his expressionless face finally showing some emotion of embarrassment.

"That's... Understandable." Stoick finally replied, still watching Skorm who was struggling against Dane at the end of the pier.

"But he does have a point, where is this Astrid? I would like to meet her." Bolmor said, he too scanning the crowd, albeit more subtly than his son who had managed to struggle his way back to his father's side.

"Well... About that..." Stoick stumbled and not being one for quick thinking saw no option but to tell Bolmor the truth.

"At this present time, Astrid isn't here." Stoick said.

"Where is she?" Bolmor asked politely.

"We don't quite... know. But we have people out looking for her." Was Stoick's slightly embarrassed reply. Thankfully Kenra appeared at that moment, hopefully with good news.

"Bolmor, Skorm; this is Kenra, Astrid's mother." Stoick introduced.

"Good day." Kenra said to the two strangers before turning to Stoick. "There's no sign of them, their parents haven't seen them since early yesterday." Stoick turned away from Kenra, one person going missing was understandable it happened from time to time on such a large island, people got lost. But five... Something was definitely wrong.

"And..." Kenra continued, "There's still no sign of Astrid." There was a moment of tense silence as the four of them process what this meant. But then the silence was abruptly broken.

"You fucking lost her!" Skorm shouted.

xXx

High above the two tribes, on a cliff, stood three dragon riders and their dragons, watching as the two large groups come together. "With the arrival of those Ash Warriors, it almost doubles the size of the village. There's way too many to deal with if it comes to a head on fight." Jack said worriedly as more and more Ash warriors and their dogs climbed off the boats.

"Jacks right," Lizzy agreed, "at the moment with Astrid still unconscious, Etana still not fully healed and the Zippleback in no condition to run, we are vulnerable. If they come looking for the others, which it sounds like they're going to do now that they've realised that they're missing, we'll have nowhere to go."

"You're right," Matt said still not taking his eyes off the meeting of the two chiefs. "We should head back to Hiccup and let him know what's happening." Despite what he just said, Matt made no move to leave. His eyes remained fixed on the exchange below them.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, not sure what had Matt so focused.

"I'm just trying to get a read on Astrid's fiancé, Skorm they said his name was. Hiccup will probably want to know about him." The three of them all went back to staring at the man. Skorm looked to be about average height, slightly shorter than Hiccup. He had waves of massive thick black hair that reached just below his shoulders and the biggest nose any of them had ever seen which he seemed to permanently keep in the air. He looked among the crowd of Vikings and a look of distain appeared over his soft features as he took in their dirty faces and grubby clothes. Over all he looked like a person who was used to being given everything to him on a silver plate.

"I don't think Hiccup has anything to worry about." Jack laughed as he watched the two tribes start to trek back up to the village. Even if Hiccup couldn't beat him to a pulp, Astrid probably wouldn't go anywhere near him due to his terrible personality.

"Where's his dog?" Lizzy asked. "All the other Ash Warriors have dogs."

Almost as if hearing Lizzy. Skorm seemed to realise that he was missing something as he marched back to the boat and disappearing for a moment before reappearing with one of the biggest dogs any of them had ever seen. It was pitch black all over, with red paint that outlined its rib cage.

"I'll tell you what, he may not be anything special, but his dog is scary as hell." Jack said, and Lizzy nodded mutely.

"Come on, we should head back." Matt finally got up and made his way over to Chaka, who had been waiting patiently with Precious and Whiplash.

xXx

Meanwhile back at camp Hiccup was enjoying catching up with his old friends, he was amazed by how little Berk had changed in the six years he'd been gone. Many of the Vikings he remembered still worked in the same shops, still lived in the same houses and Hiccup found it refreshing that after all the changes he'd been through, there was still this place that remained ever the same. It made Hiccup a little sad at the thought of leaving again. Hiccup was so focused on this thought that he didn't even notice Rowanna come and sit by him.

"It feels so weird to see you again." She confessed, "No offence but I thought you'd have been eaten a long time ago." She laughed. Hiccup couldn't help but chuckle at her awkward attempt at a joke. "Yeah well think how weird it feels for me, last time I saw you, you were just a mop of crazy red hair." Hiccup laughed.

"Hey don't dis the hair." She laughed bumping his shoulder. They fell into comfortable silence, both listening to Snotlout as he continued to boast about something.

"I hope you know that I will protect your secret." Rowanna said as she continued to gaze at Snotlout as he fell off the log he was sitting on as his overly dramatic gesture threw him off balance.

"I know, I trust you." Hiccup replied chuckling at what Jack said.

"Why?" Rowanna asked, turning to Hiccup. "You barely know me, how do you know that the moment your back is turned I won't simply run to Stoick and tell him exactly where you are. I promise I won't, but I could."

"Well Snotlout trusts you, I trust Snotlout therefore I trust you." Hiccup turned to give her a goofy smile, which she vaguely remembered on him when she was young.

Rowanna just stared at him as he turned back the conservation around them, but this time she really stared at him. She looked past the aloof master dragon rider he had become and if she looked closely she could still see the small, kind boy that she remembered.

"Thank you." She whispered, not sure if he heard her or not, but she thought she saw the corner of his mouth tilt up slightly.

xXx

"So tell me, what's changed around Berk in the last six years?" Hiccup asked his Viking friends.

"Not much, nothing changes in Berk; it's practically the most boring place on earth." Tuffnut moaned.

"For once I agree with him, this place is a dump not like the places I bet you've been too." Ruffnut reluctantly agreed.

"What are you talking about, loads have things have changed!" Fishlegs emphasised. "This year's crop production had increased by two percent from six years ago. The overall population has declined by 40% since Hiccup left. Sigund the Baker invented a new type bread that doesn't taste as much like rock, which has led to a 70% increase in food consumption. Weapon quality has fluctuated but over all decreased. The amount of fish caught..."

"Wait what was that thing about weapons?" Hiccup interrupted, no one sensing Hiccups urgency.

"Well, ever since Gobber left the village has been through a number of different black smiths, at this present time standing at 17.3 smiths, not one lasting more than a couple months. Due to this the number and quality of the weapons being produced by the forge has fluctuated a lot. But in total its down by 47.8%." Fishlegs finished, smiling happily at the depth of his knowledge.

"Why did Gobber leave?" Hiccup remembered everything about the man he considered his substitute father and he couldn't think of any reason why he would leave Berk. Fishlegs, realising the mistake he had made in bringing up Gobber, turned to Snotlout to help him out. Hiccup's gaze turned to Snotlout, the authority in his eyes almost made Snotlout want to quiver.

"Snotlout, tell me why Gobber left." Hiccup said slowly, the tone of his voice making everyone else halt their conversations and turn to the two of them.

"Well...um you see after you left Stoick started to...um...change. And well after a few months Gobber and Stoick got into an argument about it. Gobber basically said that Stoick was taking his anger on what you...did on the dragons and that it was putting the village in danger." Snotlout paused to try and gage how Hiccup was taking this, but his emotionless expression gave nothing away.

"As a result, Stoick gave Gobber a choice to either be...executed or go into...exile. Gobber left later that day and no one's seen or heard of him since." Snotlout said slowly as he watched Hiccup and waited for his reaction.

Everything was silent as they waited for Hiccup's reply. All the Vikings knew how close Hiccup and Gobber where, and the other riders had often heard Hiccup speak fondly of this Gobber person. It all happened so fast, no one was really sure what was happening until Hiccup had already stood up from the log he was sitting on and jumped on Toothless, who must have sensed his riders intentions and were already flying out the cove.

"I think he's angry." Tuffnut said, as he watched Toothless's figure disappear into the trees.

"Yep. That's two agreements in one day, you must be on a role." Ruffnut laughed, trying to take away the uneasy feeling that had descended upon the group.

xXx

Toothless could feel the anger radiating of his rider as the continued to fly through the clouds with Hiccup's totally unconscious movements of his amputated tail fin. They had been flying for around 20 minutes before Hiccup finally spoke.

"What should I do, Toothless? I can't believe that my father would do such a thing, but I know that Snotlout wouldn't lie to me about something this serious." Hiccup was silent for bit while Toothless made the appropriate purrs and grunts in response to Hiccups question.

Toothless physically felt the change in his rider's mood. The shift from confused and uneasy to blinding rage almost made Toothless fault in his flying. Toothless was pretty sure he knew what Hiccup wanted to do and Toothless was in agreement. Stoick was responsible for the deaths of thousands of his brothers and sisters, he had made Hiccup think he was worthless when he was growing up and now he had caused great pain to his rider. In silent agreement Toothless and Hiccup altered their course and started heading to Berk.

"How dare he do that? Gobber was his friend and he just threw him out like he was nothing. He needs to answer for what he's done." Hiccup ranted as Berk came into view and they saw that the vast majority of the village and the guest clan were at the arena, including Stoick. Hiccup directed Toothless to the forest edge and set him down to land. Hiccup climbed off Toothless's back and came round to his face.

"Toothless I need you to stay here, this is something I have to face on my own." Hiccup patted his best friends nose affectionately. Toothless purred in response, as if to say that it was too dangerous for him to go alone.

"I'm sorry bud, but I have to do this alone. Please stay here; I will call you if I need you." Toothless gave one last growl of protest before sitting down to wait for Hiccups return. Hiccup turned away from his best friend and snuck into the village undetected. He made his way to the cheering crowds that waited at the arena. Hiccup snuck into the shadows to read the situation. It seemed to him that Stoick had decided to hold a tournament, despite the fact that the dragons had disappeared. The guest clan chief, who Matt had said was named Bolmor, was sat next to chieftain's seat, his son next to him, to watch the fights. Stoick himself was absent from his seat, Hiccup scanned the rest of the arena seats but couldn't locate him. He was about to head back into the village to search for him there until a familiar voice caught his attention from inside the middle of the arena. Hiccup adjusted he position so he could see into the sandy pit. There he saw his fath...Stoick stood off against an Ash Warrior. The Warrior was very skilled but in the end he was no match for Stoick who managed to take him down after a few minutes. A Viking came and picked up the unconscious Ash warrior.

"Any other warrior who dares challenge me" Stoick laughed. Hiccup who always had had a taste for dramatics couldn't pass up this opportunity to make an entrance. Hiccups feet fell silently upon the arena sands and stalked forward towards Stoick. An eerily silence fell over the arena as more and more people noticed the stranger.

"I dare." Hiccups voice rang out across the space between him and the man he used to call father. Stoick turned round to face the voice that had become annoyingly familiar to him.

"You..." Stoick spat. "How dare you come here?! You and your dragon filth."

"I am not here as a dragon rider, but as someone you've wronged!" Hiccup shouted, his anger coming out in waves. Before Stoick could reply a commotion was heard by the arenas gate. Both Hiccup and Stoick turned to see what was happening.

"Let me though you, you great oafs. I am the chief's son and I demand you step aside." Came a voice Hiccup didn't recognise. A second later a young man came out who matched the description Matt gave of Skorm, Astrid's fiancé. Hiccup couldn't help but compare himself to this man who Astrid was supposed to marry. Hiccup felt sure in his comparison that if Astrid was given the choice she would still pick him.

"You!" Skorm shouted, pointing of Hiccup, recognizing his robes. "I've heard tales about you. They say that you are the best swordsman of the age. I am to prove those tails wrong. Draw your swords, you die here today."

Hiccup just stared at the man, no idea what the man was going on about. To him it just seemed like this man wanted a fight. "With all due respect Skorm, I have a score to settle with this man." Stoick said, staring straight at Hiccups hooded face.

"Well with all due respect Stoick," Skorm mimicked. "I don't care. He's mine and when he lays dead at my feet the whole world will know my strength." Skorm then ran at Hiccup, holding his sword above his head and releasing a battle cry.

Hiccup using his dragon eyesight watched in slow motion as the man ran towards him. Hiccup couldn't help but criticize Skorm's posture as he held his weapon and the fact that his attack was riddled with flaws and tactical disadvantages. It took practically no effort at all for Hiccup to adjust his stance to use Skorm's force against him. Unarming and tripping him up at the same moment. Leaving him sprayed out on the floor, sputtering up sand.

"I'd reconsidered this marriage contract Stoick, Astrid would wipe the floor with this fool."

"Hey, what do you mean by fool-" Hiccup delivered a swift punch to Skorms face leaving him unconscious.

"Where is Astrid? What have you done with her?" Stoick shouted.

"She is nowhere she doesn't wich to be. And at this moment she is not any of your concern." Hiccup fell into his fighting stance, pulling out his twin sides and motioned for Stoick to come at him. "I will make you regret what you did."

xXx

Something is wrong, Astrid could feel it in her very bones, her blood, her heart, her very soul. Something was very wrong. Her entire body felt heavy, as if she'd been asleep for days and she felt unnaturally hot, her clothes feeling like they were on fire. Astrid could feel a foreign presence within her, but couldn't figure out exactly where. All this was confusing and she could feel herself start to panic. But then it all her memories of the last few days came back to her and it all made sense. Her aching body must be due to the pressure it was put under during the joining, the heat was due to the dragon blood that now flowed through her veins and the presence was Etana as she was now permanently a part of her. However, it still didn't explain the feeling of intense anger and hurt that she felt.

Astrid mustered up all her strength and tried to wake herself up. Slowly she felt her consciousness return to her and a managed to open her eyes. The light stung as it hit her eyes, as they had grown used to the dark, but eventually they adjusted. Astrid heard a squawk to her side that she instantly knew to be Etana and was then surrounded by people.

"Astrid...Astrid are you awake?" Snotlout asked

.

"Of course she is you idiot, her eyes are open." Tuffnut said, hitting Snotlout round the back of the head.

"Astrid, how are you feeling?" A calm voice that she recognised to be Matt asked placing a hand on her back to help her up.

"Um... I don't know, I feel strange. I need... I need Hiccup." Astrid said, frantically looking round which only caused to make her head hurt more.

"Astrid take it easy, the joining takes a while to get used to." Jack said, trying to make everyone back up to give her some air.

"Where's Hiccup?" Astrid said, with more urgency. The build up of these foreign emotions within her was only getting worse and she knew it had something to do with Hiccup.

"Relax Astrid, Hiccup and Toothless went for a fly not long ago. I'm sure he'll be back soon." Ruffnut tried to reassure her. Astrid knew that something wasn't right with Hiccup, he was hurt and angry. She had to go find him. Astrid shakily stood up and started walking to Etana. Etana knew that Astrid wanted to go and find Hiccup and was more than happy to help. Not only did she want to make her rider happy, she also wanted to help Hiccup and more than everything she wanted to fly, she was sick of being cooped up in the cove. Lizzy was the first one to figure out what Astrid was planning, probably because she also had wanted to go look for Hiccup.

"Astrid, don't be stupid; even if you knew how to fly, you're in no stable condition right now." Lizzy said.

"Hiccup needs me and I'm going to help him." Astrid said as she tried to unsuccessfully haul herself onto Etana's back, which only caused her body to pulse with pain.

"Astrid, don't be ridiculous. Get down away from Etana and we will help you." Matt tried to reason, approaching the dragon. But as he got close Etana began to fidget and squawk, indicating for him to back off.

"Back off." Astrid shouted now firmly situated on Etana's back. "I'm going to go find him." With that Astrid and Etana took to the sky, in a rather shaky take off. "Come on girl, take me to him."

xXx

Astrid concluded that flying was a lot harder than it looked, not only do you have to deal with the strong winds, uncomfortable position and dodging obstacles but you also have to deal with you and your dragon arguing about directions. Eventually Astrid and Etana arrived at the point where Hiccup had left Toothless. Astrid managed to navigate a really poor landing, with her ending up being thrown forward into a busy, and ordered the two dragons to stay put.

"Stay here, it will be safer for all of us if I go fetch him myself." Astrid left the two dragons and headed to where she just knew Hiccup would be, the arena. When Astrid arrived at the arena she couldn't believe what she saw. Hiccup was going head to head with Stoick and by the looks of it they had been at it awhile. Both had various tears in their clothes that were bleeding to varying different degrees. Stoick seemed to be favoring his right arm, indicating that Hiccup had dealt him a hard blow on his left, whereas Hiccup was limping slightly on his left foot. Over all it looked like a stalemate. However, something in the off to the side caught Astrid's attention. A man she didn't recognise was pushing himself up and was glaring menacingly at Hiccup. He grabbed his sword that was lying next to him and started sneaking up on Hiccup.

"Behind you." Someone shouted and it took Astrid a moment to realise it was her. Both Stoick and Hiccup turned to the voice and Hiccup caught sight of Skorm trying to sneak up on him.

"You made me look a fool!" Skorm shouted as he lunged at Hiccup.

"I think your doing a good enough job of that on your own." Hiccup replied jumping out the way. Hiccup waited for Skorm to lunge forward again and when he did, Hiccup side stepped the attack, grabbing hold of Skorm's outstretched arm and pulled him forward, then using his shoulder to shove him. This caused Skorm to again end up face first in the dirt. However, during this time, Stoick had gotten over his shock of seeing Astrid and took advantage of Hiccups distraction by delivering a swift blow with his hammer to Hiccups side, the force of which knocked Hiccup to the ground. Hiccup ignoring his happiness that Astrid was awake, cursing Skorm for distracting him and ignoring the pain that Stoick had just caused, jumped to his feet. However, the upward movement caused Hiccups hood to fall back revealing his face to Stoick.

"No...no...no no no!" Stoick shouted, staggering backwards. Hiccup just stood there, not sure how to react to his father's denial. Stoick threw his hammer to the ground and Hiccup in return lowered his swords. Stoick raised his hand and started moving towards Hiccup, desperate to know if his son was really standing before him.

"Stay back." Hiccup said, holding up one sword in warning. Regardless as to whether Stoick was happy he was back; Hiccup was still angry at what him for what he had done to Gobber.

"Hiccup, is it really you?"


	15. Stories

Stoickk had no idea what he was supposed to do as he stared at the boy, no the man, that his son had become. He knew he should feel absolute hatred for him due to his actions, the anger he had carried with him for the last six years was proof of that. But now that he was face to face with his son he didn't give a damn about all the anger and hatred. All he wanted to do was reach out to him, unlike all those times when Hiccup was a child, when he ignored him. Stoick wanted to gather his lost son in his arms, just to make sure that he was really there and that he wasn't just imagining him. But even how Stoick refused to let himself show any emotion or weakness by showing his long lost son any affection.

"What are you doing here?" He ended up asking.

There was small pause while Hiccup analysed his current situation. His father had ceased to show any hostility towards him, but Hiccup kept his twin swords stretched out before him and remained vigilant of all the other Vikings and Ash Warriors that surrounded him. He was confident that he could make an escape if he needed too, but there was no way he would be able get Astrid out as well. Luckily everyone had seemed to have forgotten about her warning for the time being, so she was safe.

"I came back to Berk in hopes that you had finally realised that dragons are not your enemies. But my motives for coming here now are completely different." Hiccup replied the anger evident in his voice.

"What have I done to anger you so much? You are the one that left, that abandoned his family for a dragon? It should be I who is angry at you." Stoick asked, truly unsure of what had ignited this sudden hatred.

"How dare you ask me that?! After what you did to Gobber, you have the audacity to ask me that." Hiccup shouted as he took a step towards Stoick, the entire arena braced themselves in case he made to attack. The realisation hit Stoick like a wall, his decision to exile his closest friend had not been one he'd allowed himself to think about in many years. He wondered how Hiccup had found out but decided now was not the best time to ask. He knew he should acknowledge his mistake, but his Viking stubbornness prevented him from doing so.

"I had my reasons for making that decision, and you have no right to question my decision!" Stoick replied. Hiccup laughed sarcastically in response.

"No right?! Every decision you've made has led to the suffering of those you claim to protect. Your pointless battle with dragons over the years has led to nothing but death and destruction. Your obsession with finding the nest has resulted in losing half your village. Finally, your decision to exile Gobber, the man who was more a father to me than you ever were, has led you here, where your own life is on the line."

Hiccup could feel his blood boiling within him, his dragon half desperately wanting to come out. He could feel Toothless becoming more and more restless as time ticked by.

"How dare you?! Everything I have ever done has been for the protection of this village and the safety of its people. You don't get to judge me and my decisions after you abandoned the village to those blood thirsty creatures that you love so much. You left, so don't you dare tell me that I made bad choices when you weren't here to see the situations I had to deal with."

"You're right I wasn't here. I was travelling the world showing other tribes and races that dragons are not be feared. All those other people listened to me and now there all better off for it. I left to help people, and if all those years ago you'd accepted my help then we wouldn't be here now. But no you were too proud to admit that everything you thought was wrong."

"How did you expect me to react, to welcome that beast in the arena with open arms? I had an obligation to protect the village and that Night Fury was a danger. If you had come to me before hand, then maybe-"

"Don't bullshit me. We both know that if I had gone to you, you would have thought me crazy and locked me away."

"Truth be told, I'm still not sure you aren't, this fascination with dragons..."

Hiccup didn't hear the rest of his father's sentence as a feeling of intense weariness washed over him. His body felt just as it did when he first woke up from his joining. With this realisation he knew exactly where this feeling was coming from.

"Hiccup..." Before the word had even left Astrid's lips, Hiccup was already running towards her. He reached her just as her legs collapsed from under her. Hiccup sank to the floor cradling Astrid to his chest.

"What are you even doing here? You should be resting." Hiccup chastised. Astrid reached up her hand to stroke Hiccups cheek.

"I felt your pain and I knew you needed me. I swore to myself I'd always be there for you."

"Thank you." Hiccup relied as he smoothed her fringe out her eyes.

"Hiccup... I feel so hot. Why am I so hot?" Astrid asked quivering slightly.

"Shhh, its ok. You're going to be fine." A sad smile spread across Astrid's face as she surrendered to unconsciousness. "Astrid!" Hiccup shouted shaking her lightly. When she didn't wake Hiccup turned to his only hope in his current situation.

"Stoick, she needs help." Stoick was struck dumb by the scene he had just witnessed. The complete change in Hiccup the moment Astrid started to fall almost gave him whiplash. He idly wondered how the two of them could be so close when Hiccup could have only arrived a few days ago, unless there was something there before he left. This realisation was like a kick to the stomach, it forced him to think about all the other stuff that he might have missed about Hiccup as he was growing up. All those years he'd blamed Hiccup for them not having a good relationship, but in reality it was him. He wasn't sure what to do with this realisation, it wasn't like he could go back and change the past, but he felt obligated to do something.

"Stoick, she needs to get to the elder. Does she still live in the same house?" Hiccup urged.

"Um... Yeah, top of the hill." Stoick replied rather numbly. Hiccup didn't waste a second before he picked up Astrid as if she was as light as a feather and started to carry her towards the arenas gate. The two guards stationed there had no idea what to do and so let him past.

Stoick too was unsure of what the protocol was in this situation. Should he help? Arrest Hiccup and probably Astrid? Kill them? Completely unsure of what to do, he decided to follow Hiccup to the elder. When he got outside the arena he found Bolmor waiting for him.

"We need to talk." His completely expressionless face showed no clue as to what Bolmor thought of this entire situation. Before Stoick could offer a reply, Bolmor had already started walking after Hiccup, Dane following closely behind him.

"My people have heard many tales of the dragon riders. Some people say they are knowledgeable scholars who travel the world sharing their knowledge, others say they are fearsome warriors that will not hesitate to kill anyone who poses a threat to dragons. I personally say that they are both. Tales of their adventures circle around every village I've visited, in truth I'm surprised you haven't heard them. Some say they are blessed by the Gods, which Gods? Depends who you ask. Others claim they are Gods, as only those with divine powers could tame such wild beasts. Another popular tale is that they were born from dragons as a dragon-human hybrid to bridge the gap between the two species."

"Why tell me all this, these stories will not influence me in any way?" Stoick questioned, not sure where Bolmor was going with this conversation.

"I met one once, a rider I mean." Bolmor said casually.

"What?! Are you saying you've met Hiccup before?"

"I can't say for sure it was Hiccup as I never saw his face, but his fighting style was very similar."

"Tell me what happened." Stoick demanded, unsure exactly why he was so eager to hear the story. Bolmor just cracked the faintest smile in response.

"Well it was a couple years ago, before I was chief when I was still a mercenary. I was on a job with some of my brothers in some village, I forget the name. Someone had paid us a hell of a lot of gold to kill a pack of dragons that had recently decided to nest nearby. We were sneaking up on the dragon's nest, I was the lead. When I turned round to give the order to my men to attack I found that they were no longer behind me. Just before I was about to step back to go look for my men I felt the point of a sword pressed against the back of my neck."

'What are you doing here?' The man asked.

'My men and I were paid by someone in the village to get rid of this nest of dragons.'

'Why did they want the dragons gone, had they harmed them in anyway, caused any trouble?'

'I don't know, we were paid to kill not ask questions.'

'Well think then, did you see any fear in the villager's eyes, any signs of raids on the village?'

"I thought back to the few villagers I had interacted with during my time in the village, they all seemed unafraid of the nest of dragons or least unconcerned with it. The village itself was old, the building having been there for generations at least, meaning that there hadn't been any raids in the time the dragons had started to nest in the area.

'No.'

'Then why did you agree to kill them? They pose no harm to the village or the people there and especially not to a traveler like you.'

'They're dragons! They could kill people.' At the time I couldn't understand why this person didn't realise the danger that dragons posed.

'The people of the village are but simple farmers who live peaceful lives. You and your men could just as easily kill the entire village. So should I kill you and your men because of an act that you might commit. Just like you were willing to do to these dragons.'

'But that's different, those dragons are animals-'

'As are humans.'

'But-'

'It seems words won't convince you, start walking.' The man started prodding the back of my armor and directed me into the dragon clearing. There, stood before me was a mixture of at least 30 dragons, some species I'd never seen before. One by one the noticed us in the clearing and turned towards us. I stood waiting for an attack that never came; they simply carried on with what they were doing before.

'See they do not wish to harm you, so why do you seek to harm them.' I had no idea what to do, everything this man was telling me went directly against everything I had ever learned about dragons. I was so confused by what the man was showing me that I didn't even notice him move from behind me until I saw him stood to the side, stroking a dragon's nose.

I don't why I did, probably instincts, but the moment he was away from me I started pulling out my sword. Moving so fast I didn't even see him move he was holding his sword to my throat again. The clearing was completely silent was we stared at each other.

'Think carefully about your next move, I will not hesitate to run this sword straight through your throat.' His voice had taken on a completely different tone, before it was inquisitive almost playful but now it radiated power and danger. I started to crouch indicating that I was lowering my weapon, but just before I was about to drop it I swung it upwards deflecting his sword away from my neck. He shook his head as if in disappointment before I launched into another attack.

He managed to deflect every hit, blow for blow. Almost as if I was fighting in slow motion giving him plenty of time to react to my attack. After a while I began to tire, it was clear that my age and his superior fighting skills left me at a disadvantage. He too realised this and managed to floor me and unarm me in one move. I lay on the floor with my own sword pointed at my chest.

'Stand up.' He ordered and I had no choice but to comply.

'If you take none of the knowledge I have shared with you today, then at least remember this. If you try and kill any of these dangers or any other dragons with no reason again, I will kill you.' The tone of his voice left me with no question about his promise, he would kill me. I nodded to his demands.

'Good, now...' He turned to the direction we had come from and threw my sword through the trees. 'You'll find you friends with the sword, they should wake up in an hour or so. Now go.' After that day I gave up mercenary work, returned to my village worked to become worthy of being the next chief.

The reason I'm telling you this Stoick is that these riders, Hiccup, are not to be trifled with. They are powerful not just with their dragons but also on their own. And no offense to your fighting but if Hiccup is the man I fought, and had he not been ruled by his emotions during your fight then he would have easily bested you."

By the time that Bolmor had finished his story they were approaching the elders house, Hiccup had already gone inside to get the elder to help Astrid. Stoick remained outside thinking over what Bolmor had just told him. In a way he was proud that Hiccup had finally become such a capable fighter, good enough to easily beat Bolmor. In truth Bolmor's story had made Stoick even unsure as what he should do about Hiccup, and it sickened him slightly to realise that he was considering giving Hiccup a chance with his whole friendly dragon stuff. But before he had any more time to think about it, Hiccup emerged from the house.

"The elder says her body is just exhausted and that she needs rest."

An awkward silence descended over the three of them, all unsure of what they should do next. Thankfully they were saved from the awkward situation by a cry from the village below.

"Dragons!"


	16. Raid

The village burst into a flurry of activity, swarms of Vikings and Ash Warriors poured out of the arena and headed deeper into the village to prepare the dragon defenses. Within seconds the catapults were locked and loaded, already firing at the hundreds of dragons that had descended on the village. It was unusual for dragons to attack in daylight but not unheard of. Stoick immediately started heading down into the heart of the village to get in to the fight, with Hiccup hot on his heels.

"Stoick, listen to me." Hiccups grabbed the back of Stoick's fur cape and dragged him back. "Stoick, I can get the dragons to leave and no one will get hurt, just give me a chance." Hiccups previous anger at Stoick forgotten for the moment as the threat to his dragons loomed over them.

"That's impossible." Stoick replied and tried to carry on towards the village. He could see that the fire brigade was doing well keeping the fire damage from spreading, but more and more dragons continued to poor out the clouds and that soon they would be over whelmed. However, Hiccup kept a firm grasp on Stoick's cape.

"Stoick please, just for once give me a chance." Hiccup pleaded, he knew that the longer he waited the higher the chance that a dragon would be hurt or worse killed, but he had to try and get Stoick to understand. Stoick stared at Hiccup and then at the scene ahead of him. He couldn't believe that Hiccup would be able to end the fight without anyone coming to harm. He badly wanted to give Hiccup a chance, if not himself then at least for the protection of the village. But his deep set ways and Viking pride refused to let Hiccup tell him he was wrong.

"Stoick remember what I've told you." Bolmor said from his stance between the pair. Stoick looked at him for a second before turning back to Hiccup.

"I will not let your heathen ways poison my village. Now get out of my way." Stoick pushed past Hiccup and ran into the battle, holding his mighty hammer high. Hiccup roared in anger at the man that was unfortunately his father. He knew he had to work fast if he had any hope of minimizing the casualties on both sides. He noticed that Bolmor had remained and continued to stare at Hiccup.

"I know it was you." Bolmor stated, "I will try and prevent further harm to the dragons." He then followed Stoick into the thick of the fight. Hiccup was confused by this man, who he had no recollection of but who seemed to know him. However, Hiccup couldn't afford to spend any more time thinking about it.

'Toothless' he called out and no sooner had he thought it, he saw his dragon as well as Etana flying towards him. Toothless landed in front of Hiccup who wasted no time in climbing on his back.

"Etana, stay here and guard that house." Hiccup ordered and pointed at the elder's house, where Astrid lay helpless. Etana squawked in affirmative before taking a defensive stance in front of the house. "Now Toothless, find me the leader." Hiccup had learnt during his extensive research into dragon behavior that raiding parties usually followed one lead dragon, who ordered when to attack and when to retreat. And right now Hiccup really needed them to sound the retreat. Toothless wasted no time before jumping into the sky and began flying around the village searching for the leader. Toothless himself had previously used to lead these very same raiding parties back when he was under the power of the queen. So he knew all the best vantage points where the leader could keep an eye on the progress of the raid. However, navigating himself through the swarms of dragons and Viking catapults was proving to be difficult. Luckily Hiccup noticed help on the horizon and directed Toothless over to his fellow riders.

"Jack, take out those catapults. After that try and separate any fights between the dragons and Vikings. Go now!" Hiccup ordered and Whiplash immediately banked left and fired a series of fire balls at a row of catapults.

"Matt, stop any dragons from leaving the island with people or livestock. I don't care how but make them turn back." Chaka straight away spotting a dragons making for the ocean with a cow in it talons gave chase, using his larger size barged the dragons before plucking the cow from its grasp and throwing it in a nearby hay stack before flying after another dragon.

"Lizzy, help out any dragons that have been captured. Try and avoid hurting any Vikings, but ensure the dragon reaches safety." Precious catching a sight of a fellow dragon ensnared in a net raced over to its aid, crabbing the net in her talons as she few off. Toothless now having much more room to maneuver thanks to the help of his dragon allies, managed to locate the raid leader. It was a Monstrous Nightmare that was perched high up on a cliff top supervising the raid. Thankfully it had yet to notice Toothless who was hovering above it.

"Toothless get me closer to make the jump." Toothless then began a slow dive towards the Nightmare. When Toothless was about 20 feet above the dragon Hiccup jumped of his back before landing gracefully on the Nightmare's. Before the Nightmare could react Hiccup had pulled out his blade and sliced a cut in his own hand, then making a similar cut on the dragons back. Hiccup then placed his cut onto of the dragons. The connection was instant. A spark ignited between the two as their blood flowed together; their bodies become perfectly in sync. Hiccup felt the Nightmare's confusion and panic as if they we his own emotions.

"It's ok, relax. I'm here to help." Hiccup soothed the dragon. He felt the dragon tense before finally relaxing into Hiccup touch. Just as Hiccup could feel the dragon's emotions, so could the dragon feel Hiccups and she knew that Hiccup meant her no harm and wanted to help. Together they gazed down at the village below as it slowly became engulfed in flames. The Vikings were struggling to attack the dragons that remained air born without the aid of their catapults that now remained nothing but smoking piles of ash. Vikings were running around collecting the livestock that Matt was bringing back. Both sides were in a complete stalemate, both being helped and then hindered in their efforts by the riders and their dragons.

"Now listen to me. You need to call a retreat and order the dragons into the forest to collect your bounty." Hiccup told the Nightmare. The Nightmare seemed unsure, knowing that it was unlikely they would catch enough food to appease the queen if they retreated to the wild.

"Listen to me, your brothers and sisters are being hurt. They need you to call them back before they suffer any more. I promise I will protect you." Hiccup felt his strength beginning to fade, maintaining the connection was beginning to drain him. Hiccup felt the Nightmare give in to him and was about to roar for a retreat when suddenly a dark presence forced its way between the connection.

"NO! YOU MUST STAY AND BRING ME FOOD." The force of the command almost brought the Nightmare to its knees.

"DON'T YOU DARE DISOBEY MY WILL OR YOU WILL ALL BE PUNISED!" Hiccup felt the dark presence surround him and force itself inside him through the connection he held with the Nightmare.

"WHO ARE YOU?! HOW DARE YOU TRY AND CONVINCE MY SUBJECTS TO DISOBEY THEIR QUEEN." He could feel the Queen try and force herself into his mind, the pain of her trying to claw herself through him was excruciating. The blooding curling roar and scream that emitted from the connected pair pierced through the noise of the battle bringing it to a halt and a deafening silence decended over the village as every man and dragon gazed up at the source of the scream and saw the Nightmare trashing around dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. Hiccup desperately tried to fight off the invasion within his own body, but the Queen's attack and his connection to the Nightmare was drastically reducing his strength.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR MENDLING AND DISOBEDIENCE!" The pain continued to intensify until the dragon accidently fell of the cliff. Hiccup could feel nothing accept the clawing at his brain, the pain continuing to build for both Hiccup and the Nightmare. The pair continued to fall at an alarming the rate, the pain caused by the queen preventing the dragon from doing anything except roaring out in pain. Hiccup knew he had to do something before the dragon and he collided with the hard ground.

'Toothless, give me strength.' Hiccup thought, searching inside himself for Toothless' familiar presence. Gathering whatever strength he still had within himself, he pushed himself against the Queen's presence and back through the connection to the Nightmare.

"Fly." He ordered, but the dragon couldn't concentrate away from the pain.

"Spread your wings and fly." Hiccup ordered again, pushing his presence over the dragon to try and fight against the Queen's hold. But it wasn't enough and they continued to fall.

"FLY, THOR DAMNIT!" With that Hiccup used whatever power that remained within him and pushed and pushed against the Queen, before finally managing to push her out of the link between himself and the dragon. Hiccup was left absolutely drained and he fell away from the dragon, breaking their connection. The Nightmare, no longer under the hold of the Queen finally managed to regain itself and tried to slow its descent. But it was unfortunately too late to save itself completely and ended up crashing into the ground in a rather awkward landing. Toothless who had jumped to fly over to Hiccup the moment he started to fall off the Nightmare, dived for Hiccup and clutched him to his body before he turned so he would bear the full force of the landing.

There was silence as the dust cleared, which showed Toothless gently unfurling Hiccup from his wings, who was only half conscience, down on the floor and the Nightmare struggle to her feet, one of its wings clearly broken. Matt, Jack, Lizzy, Stoick and Bolmor ran over to the scene, the rest of the village staying back, Hiccups fellow riders running straight to Hiccup's side to try and assess his injuries.

"Hiccup!" Matt shouted, shaking Hiccups shoulders to try and keep him conscience. "What happened?" Hiccup couldn't even find the strength to lift up his hand to show his friends the evidence of his connection with the Nightmare.

"Look," Lizzy said as she cradled Hiccup's hand in her lap. "He formed a connection. But there's something wrong with the blood." The three of them noticed that the stains of the pinkish red that was the dragons blood and the blood that slowly seeped from Hiccups cut was slowly turning black, as if the presence of the Queen had poisoned the connection between Hiccup and the Nightmare.

"What do you think happened?" Jack questioned as he started clearing away the foul black liquid.

"I don't know, but I'd bet it has to do with that dragon Hiccup warned us about." Matt concluded as he took in Hiccup exhausted face.

"Um...Is he...I mean how... Will he be ok?" Stoick stumbled, having no idea what they were talking about.

"We don't know, we need to get him back to our camp where our supplies are." Jack replied, remaining distrustful of the large Viking.

"Well...um you could use our supplies...if it will help." Stoick replied, the guilt at the way he spoke to Hiccup earlier refused to let him pretend anymore that he didn't care about Hiccup. All Stoick could think was 'that can't be the last thing I say to him.'

"It would be better is we start treating Hiccup straight away, his pulse continues to grow weaker." Lizzy said.

"Very well." Matt agreed, "Bring us whatever you can." Hiccup himself was blissfully unaware of the conversation that was happening around him as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The feeling of just him and Toothless being the only ones inside of him left him feeling surprisingly light. However, the feeling was short lived. The dark presence forced its way back into Hiccup using the remains of the Nightmare's blood that still flowered through Hiccup's veins.

"You will pay for what you've done." The Queen made no attempt to hide her intentions from Hiccup, before he felt her presence disappear from within himself.

"NO!" Hiccup shouted as he flung himself forward, his arm reaching out towards the Nightmare. There was a brief second of silence before screams once against filled the air. The pain was evident in the dragon's roar, as it fell to the ground and started thrashing around as the pain intensified. Through the last remnants of their connection, Hiccup could feel as the darkness wormed its way inside of the Nightmare, through its very soul. He could only reach out hopelessly as he felt the darkness consume the dragon's heart and slowly crushed the life out of it. The dragons dying screaming pierced the heart of the entire village, the wild thrashing eventually ceased and the dragon lay completely still. The silence that descended over the village was deafening as everyone stared into the Monstrous Nightmare's terrified, lifeless eyes. Hiccup couldn't stand to look at the dragon who he'd promised to protect a second longer and allowed himself to surrender to unconsciousness, his last thought being...

"Stoick was right, I couldn't stop the raid without anyone getting hurt.'


	17. Alliance

Hiccup awoke still feeling weak from the after affects of forming a connection with the Nightmare. He knew that he'd stretched beyond his limits but he was desperate to prove to his father that his method of dealing with dragons was the better one, that it could work. Unfortunately, he couldn't have predicted the power that the Red Death had over the dragons, Hiccup couldn't have even guessed that it had telepathic powers that were strong enough to break into his connection with the Nightmare. However, Hiccup knew that if he hadn't of being trying so hard to impress his father, then he would have wasted so much energy at the start trying to get the Nightmare to leave as fast as possible.

As Hiccup became more awake, he became more aware of his surroundings and discovered that he wasn't in fact awake. Hiccup sat up and glazed around the vast empty space that surrounded him, the endless white ambience revealed nothing but emptiness. Hiccup recognised the place immediately, having been there on several occasions. Hiccup gathered himself to his feet to await his arrival.

"What the hell were you thinking?! Do you have any idea how close you were to death? Had I not intervened I wouldn't be yelling at you right now!" Pavlo emerged through one of his many portals and stormed forward to stand in front of Hiccup, panting slightly from his shouting. Hiccup had the decency to look ashamed and cast his eyes to the floor.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Pavlo scolded.

"I know I pushed myself too hard, but I needed that Nightmare to sound the retreat. Every second counted." Hiccup replied.

"Why? Explain this situation to me Hiccup, because for the life of me I can't understand what you were thinking."

"I knew that the longer I waited the higher the risk of more dragons being killed and I couldn't let that happen."

"Was that really the reason?"

"Yes! Of cour-"

"Don't lie to me Hiccup, it demeans us both." Pavlo shook his head and turned away from Hiccup.

"Protecting those dragons was my top priority! How dare you question my loyalty to the Creed!"

"I do not question your loyalty Hiccup, I question your motives." Pavlo turned back to Hiccup. "Can you look me in the eye and tell me that saving those dragons was your top priority." Hiccup looked into Pavlo's eyes and was about to plead his case but the words died in his mouth as he knew his desire to prove himself to his father had caused him to rush into the fight without having a clear plan and made him exhaust himself to the point of near death.

"I'm... Sorry." Hiccup finally answered. Pavlo turned away from Hiccup again before replying.

"Sorry isn't good enough. Sorry isn't going to bring that Nightmare back."

"My failure to protect her will forever weigh on my soul, don't you dare think that I take her death lightly! I had no way of knowing how powerful the Red Death was, that it was capable of controlling dragons."

"I told you it was dangerous, that it had power over these dragons. "

"But how was I supposed to know the extent of its power?!"

"This argument accomplishes nothing, Hiccup." Pavlo sighed. There was a moment of silence between them before Pavlo spoke again. "I think you should take yourself and your riders away from here. I thought that you were ready to put your past behind you, but you still have this foolish notion of having to prove yourself to these people."

"What! You can't be serious, we are needed here, these dragons need our help!"

"And what help can you give when you push yourself to the point of death!" Pavlo shouted before taking a steadying breath and continuing. "Hiccup I don't want to argue about this. Leave now." Pavlo turned away and walked back towards his portal.

"No," Pavlo stopped dead in his tracks. "I don't care if you do doubt my motives. These dragons need my help and I will not abandon them. I will not turn my back on the Creed."

"Hiccup, you are not ready." Pavlo hissed.

"Then I will die trying." Hiccup replied defiantly. Pavlo turned back to face Hiccup and the two stared at each other.

"If this is your choice, then I will not force you to change your mind. But know that I won't support you, if the events of today were to repeat themselves, I will not lend you my aid. Are you sure this is what you wish?"

"I will free these dragons, or die trying." Hiccup replied with unwavering certainty.

"Very well." Pavlo replied, turning back to his portal. "I hope I will see you again, my brother." Pavlo then disappeared through the portal, leaving Hiccup in the vast white space. Now Hiccup had to wait for his body to recover enough strength to regain consciousness, so he lowed himself to the floor and began to meditate.

xXx

Astrid awoke still feeling utterly exhausted from the events of the previous day, was it still the previous day? Astrid felt as if she'd been asleep for days, but still didn't feel well rested. She idly wondered if this was a side effect from the joining or just a result of her foolish, but necessary, actions. As Astrid became more awake she became more aware of her surrounding and began to panic, she was not in her room nor was she in the cove that she had quickly became accustomed too. She vaguely heard voices in the distance, but she was still too dazed to recognize the voices or distinguish what they were saying. As her senses slowly began to return to her she began to recognize the house she was in as the elders, which allowed her to relax. The last thing she remembered was Hiccup cradling her as she collapsed, so it made sense that he would bring her here. Astrid allowed herself to relax and let her strength return to her, comforted by the strong steady heart beat of Etana that was in sync with her own. Outside the remaining riders get guard on their weakened friends.

"I don't trust these Vikings." Lizzy said from where she sat on Precious as she glared at any Viking that came too close to them.

"I don't either, but we can't do anything until Hiccup wakes up." Jack replied from his perch on top of the elder's house, his hidden blades ready in case anyone tried to attack Hiccup in his weakened state. Toothless remained by his side, a low growl emitting from him and his tail twitching in agitation.

"Also, as much as I hate to admit it we are going to need their help to defeat the Red Death. Its powers go beyond our knowledge and strength." Matt added, whilst he was checking the groups supplies that they had earlier brought over from the cove.

"Relax guys; the chief gave you his word that Hiccup was safe until he recovers." Tuffnut said, not understanding the group's mistrust of his tribe.

"And what about after he recovers? How do we know that he won't immediately sentence Hiccup to death the moment he steps out that house?" Lizzy accused.

"I know Stoick's a bit...suspicious of you lot and the dragons, but Hiccup's still his son." Ruffnut tried to reason, although her words sounded hollow even to her even own ears.

"You should remember that you all now have dragons as well, so he'll be equally mistrustful of you." Jack pointed out to the Vikings, as he glared at another Viking from beneath his hood who wandered too close to the house. Back when Matt was sent to retrieve the group's supplies from the cove, a decision was made to bring the Viking teens and there dragons back to the village. They felt it wasn't fair to leave them out of what was happening and future decisions on how to deal with the Red Death. However, they were now outcasts, even though they had yet to realise. Even if Hiccup managed to save the village from the Red Death, unless Stoick realised that dragons and humans can live in peace, they would no longer be welcomed as part of the tribe.

Back in the house Astrid finally felt she had enough strength to get out of bed. As she sat up the elder rushed over to her, well rushed as fast as her old little legs would allow, and presented Astrid with a goblet of foul smelling liquid that the elder urged her to drink. Astrid braced herself before gulping down the liquid in one go. A wave of nauseas overcame her, but quickly passed as she felt more of her strength returning to her.

"Thank you Gothi." Astrid said as she stood up. The elder waved off her gratitude and grabbed her hand tugging her over to a curtain that she pulled back to reveal Hiccup lying completely motionless. Astrid gasped before rushing to his side and taking his hand.

"What happened to him?" Astrid asked, sweeping some of his hair out of his face. Gothi reached over Hiccup to grab his other hand and show it to Astrid. A large gash was craved across his palm, the blood and skin around it was stained black and despite Gothi's best work, it didn't look as if it was healing.

"He was poisoned?" The elder nodded her head, but then shook her head as well. She indicated that Hiccup had cut himself, but she didn't know why and that somehow a poison had got into his system through the cut.

"Oh Thor, Hiccup, what happened to you?" Astrid said as she continually caressed his hand. Gothi tried to work around Astrid for a time but ultimately she was in the way and was preventing Gothi from effectively taking care of Hiccup. In annoyance Gothi shooed Astrid away.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me. I will leave you to your duties." Astrid said before bending down to give Hiccup a brief kiss and then departing from the small hut. As the door to the elders hut began to open everyone rushed forward, as Astrid emerged she was enveloped into a massive group hug by her Viking friends.

"We're so glad you're alright." Ruffnut said squeezing Astrid even tighter. The group was broken up by the squawking of Etana as she barged her way through the group. Astrid embraced her dragon lovingly, stroking along her scaly neck. Etana's squawking had attracted some attention from the nearby villagers; some looked at them with open hostility however others gazed on them with a mix of curiosity and awe.

"So guys, I'm going to need you to fill in some blanks for me?" Astrid said, turning back to her friends. "What happened after I collapsed?" She said, cringing slightly at the mention of her weakened state.

"Well," Matt began, "We weren't here for that part, I'd assume that Hiccup brought you here because this is where you were when we arrived during the raid."

"Wait?! There was a raid." Astrid turned back towards the village and chastised herself for not noticing the tell tale signs of a raid. Some houses were still smoking from where they had been burnt, others missing parts of their roofs and walls, and finally everyone was milling about trying to repair the damage done.

"Well what happened during the raid? What happened to Hiccup?" Astrid urged.

"We sensed the incoming raid and rode over her to assist Hiccup. We were told to protect the dragons whilst trying to protect the Vikings and live stock as well-"

"Which wasn't easy, especially when both sides were attacking us!" Jack added. Astrid whipped her head to the sound of Jacks voice, having not noticed him from his perch on top of the house. She also noticed Toothless beside him and tried to smile at him, but he was too agitated to take notice.

"Hiccup was going to try and take out the leader." Matt continued. Astrid nodded in understanding.

"Hiccup discovered that the leader was a Monstrous Nightmare that was perched on a cliff. Hiccup needed to get the leader to sound the retreat to the other dragons as quickly as possible to avoid causalities. So he was left with only one option." Matt paused and a look passed between him, Lizzy and Jack. It was clear that they were unsure that they should share their secret with the Vikings.

"Please." Astrid urged. "What happened to Hiccup?"

"He-" Matt began.

"I don't think this is wise." Lizzy cut in. "Pavlo would not approve."

"She's one of us now; she has every right to know." Jack said jumping down from the roof and landing gracefully on his feet, to head over to Whiplash to check on an injury he had gotten during the raid.

"Fine then. Astrid should be told but the others don't need to know." Lizzy said. Jack and Matt both nodded in agreement. Matt then took Astrid's arm and led her away from the others to continue his explanation.

"Hiccup needed to communicate quickly with the Nightmare and so he used a very old, very dangerous technique called Fersorron. It is the mixing of blood to create a bond between two creatures, but in a more temporary way than the joining. A Fersorron can only be maintained as long as the blood flows remain connected, this can last past the separation of the two beings as their blood still flows through the other. This bond is similar to the joining in that the two being become synced together, their minds, bodies, thoughts, feeling become one. Thus allowing Hiccup to communicate with the dragon. Are you still with me?" Matt asked when Astrid started to look a bit lost.

"Um yeah, but I don't understand how this made Hiccup sick?"

"Well the Fersorron is physically very exhausting, it drains your energy to the point where if it is maintained for too long, it can be fatal. That is why Hiccup is unconscious; he maintained the connection for a very long time which absorbed all his energy." Astrid began to understand but something still didn't make sense.

"So the cut on Hiccup's hand is how he made the connection, right?" Matt nodded. "But what about the poison in the cut? Have you seen it, it's one of the worst wounds I've ever seen."

"At this moment in time, that remains a mystery to us. I've never seen a connection become so...corrupted. Hiccup passed out before we could ask him what happened, so we just have to wait until he wakes up to find out what happened." Astrid nodded but still felt slightly frustrated at not knowing exactly what was wrong with Hiccup. Matt and Astrid made their way back over to the others to resume waiting for Hiccup to wake up.

"So..." Snotlout said, breaking the silence. "Now long do you think it'll be for Hiccup to wake up?"

"It shouldn't take too long, Hiccups strong and with your elders help he should be up soon." Matt said reassuringly. The silence returned to the group as they tried to busy themselves to distract themselves from the wait. Matt, Jack and Lizzy continued to tend to their dragons, who had received minor injuries during the raid. The Viking teens remained with their dragons, trying their best to keep them calm whilst being surrounded by hostile Vikings. Everyone was so busy with their dragons that only Toothless noticed the approaching figures and his growing growl was what alerted the others. Stoick, Bolmor and Skorm approached the group with cautious steps, eyeing the dragons with mistrust.

"Any improvement?" Stoick asked as he stopped a fair difference away.

"Astrid's awake, but no change on Hiccup." Snotlout said making to step forward up to the chief, but Hookfang grabbed the back of his fur vest and pulled him back, away from the Vikings. It was clear that the dragons were still very mistrustful of the other Vikings.

"Very well, Astrid I'd like to speak with you." Stoick said as he kept a watchful eye on the dragons. As Astrid took a few steps forward, the younger one of the two men that she didn't recognise from behind Stoick marched forward to greet her.

"So you're Astrid?" Skorm said. "About time I finally got to meet you." He then took Astrid's hand in his and a places a rather sloppy kiss on the back of it.

Astrid just grunted in disgust as she tried to pull her hand back, but the man wasn't letting go.

"I must say, you are even more beautiful than Stoick's letters led me to believe." Skorm said, ignoring Astrid's attempts to take back her hand. "Between you and me," Skorm whispered, "I was so glad it was you that stepped forward and not that other one, you are far more to my tastes." He said as he gave Astrid 's body an appreciative once over. Astrid felt slightly violated by this man's leering and fought the urge to rip her hand away and punch him in the face.

"Who are you?" Astrid demanded, desperate to get away from this man, something about him made her feel slightly queasy.

"I'm your forever, baby." Skorm replied, taking a step closer to her, which caused Astrid to take a step back. She couldn't help but hear the barely suppressed sniggers and laughs that were coming from behind her. She had such caring friends. Astrid looked over to Stoick and the other man. Stoick looked slightly guilty as he watched the exchange and the other man looked utterly embarrassed. It then dawned on her; this was the fiancé that Snotlout told her about, her fiancé. Astrid ripped her hand out of his and took a step further back away from this man. Etana sensing her distress moved forward to stand at her side, a low hiss emitting from her throat. This then caused Skorm's Mabari to edge forward to his master's side returning a growl to Etana.

"Astrid, this is Skorm, second son of Bolmor of the Ash Warrior tribe. He is here because-"

"I know why he's here." Astrid spat, glaring at all three men in front of her. Stoick cast an accusing glance at Snotlout, who avoided his gaze.

"Well Astrid, I'm expecting you to be mature about this. The benefits to the tribe will be many." Astrid scoffed in response but before she could reply a movement from the house caught her eye. Toothless' head suddenly shot up and he crawled down from the top of the house and disappeared in. Everyone waited with bated breath for some sign of movement from the house.

Thankfully they didn't have to wait long, only minutes after Toothless disappeared did the door reopened and Hiccup emerge with Toothless at his side offering support to his still weak rider. Before everyone had even finished releasing their breath Astrid had flung herself at Hiccup and embraced him.

"I was so worried about you." She whispered. Hiccup drew her into his arms, leaning on Toothless slightly to keep his balance.

"It's ok, I'm fine now. Just a little bit tired." Hiccup tried to joke, but the exhaustion in his voice gave him away, although every minute that passed more of his strength returned to him. Hiccup felt a lot better than when he had awoken, just being near Toothless again gave him strength. Astrid eventually let go of Hiccup, to allow the rest of his friends a chance to see him. Matt rather than express his relief at Hiccup being ok simply grabbed his hand to inspect it. The wound was now tightly wrapped up, but the cloth had already begun to grow soggy with blood.

"We need to talk about this." Matt whispered, giving Hiccup his hand back.

"Yes I know, and I'm fine by the way." Hiccup joked.

"I know it takes more than a busted connection to knock you down." Matt replied, clapping Hiccup on the shoulder. Stoick remained at a distance and watched his son with his friends. Hiccup seemed to inspire such loyalty and companionship from his friends, even the ones he hadn't seen in over six years. They all seemed to rally around him and as Stoick gazed at the group and then at the dragons behind them he began to wonder if maybe Hiccup could do it. That he could finally end the dragon raids on Berk once and for all. Stoick still doubted the whole dragons and humans living in peace idea, but maybe letting Hiccup try would benefit his tribe which was all he ever wanted to do.

Stoick was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice Hiccup approach him.

"Stoick please I'm going to ask you one last time. Please let me help you end these pointless raids." Hiccup pleaded. Hiccup knew that he was still going to try with or without his father's help, but Hiccup had a feeling that this was going to be one of the few occasions where brute force would be helpful. Stoick looked around at the faces of the group gathered. There were three whose faces were obscured by hoods but who all seemed to be very able warriors. There were his fellow Vikings, or were they dragon riders now, who all pleaded with him to at least try this other way. And finally Bolmor who gave a slight nod to Stoick, indicating that he should accept Hiccup's offer of help.

"Very well." Stoick finally said.

"Stoick pleas...Wait, what?" Hiccup couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"I said very well. I will gather the warriors and the council and meet you in the mead hall to discuss your plan." Stoick said, turning to the village and walking away, Bolmor following behind him to gather his warriors as well.

"Well that went better than expected." Hiccup laughed turning back to his friends.

"Will someone tell me what's going on?!" Skorm shouted. Everyone turned to look at Skorm, having completely forgotten he was there.

"Please allow me." Astrid said as she let go of Hiccups arm and walked up to Skorm.

"Let me make one thing clear. I am not going to marry you."

"Wha-" Whatever Skorm was about to say was lost as he collapsed on the floor unconscious from the punch Astrid delivered to his face.

"That's my girl." Hiccup said after the stunned silence, which caused everybody to laugh.

"Listen guys," Hiccup said to his Viking friends "head to the mead hall and tell them we'll be there soon, there's something we have to do first. But leave your dragons here, we don't want to push our luck too much."

"Ok, but don't take too long I know you haven't been around Vikings for a while but we don't like to be kept waiting." Tuffnut laughed before following the group to the mead hall. When Astrid tried to follow them, Hiccup pulled her back.

"Not you, you need to come with us." Hiccup said as he took her hand and led her to where he fell. Fortunately, the Nightmare's corpse was still there as the Vikings had yet to have enough time to remove it from the village. Hiccup let go of Astrid's hand and walked towards the dragon. Hiccup kneeled down in front of the dragons face and gently closed its eye lids, before bowing his head.

"I'm so sorry." Hiccup whispered. "I failed you." Hiccup then stood up and took a few steps back, Matt, Jack and Lizzy took their places beside him and Astrid followed them.

"I stand here as your guide knowing that life must be windowed to thrive. This holy act I perform: to open a gateway, for a willing one to come to you. This is an act of healing, a release from suffering, and an end to pain. Here is one whose wings are open to embrace you. Accept this soul whose life was taken and know that one day we will join you in the embrace of the beyond." Matt, Jack, Lizzy and Hiccup then began to chant, quietly at first but then louder. Astrid had never heard this chant before but almost instinctively the words came to her and she joined in the chanting.

"Circle us, Spirit.

Keep protection near

And danger afar.

Circle us, Spirit

Keep hope within.

Keep doubt without.

Circle us, Spirit.

Keep light near

And darkness afar.

Circle us, Spirit.

Keep peace within.

Keep evil out."

As the words flowed from their lips, the wind around them began to quicken and become stronger. The dragon's scales began to glow and burn away, turning into the dragon's very spirit. As the dragon began to burn away into nothing its spirit grew until it was all that was left. The chant came to an abrupt stop and the five of them gazed at the spirit of the Nightmare.

"Circle us, Spirit." They all said one last time. The spirit then surrounded them, passing through their own bodies before disappearing. Astrid had never seen anything so beautiful or so sad in her entire life, she felt tears falling from her eyes as she looked at the spot the dragons body was not moments ago.

"What did we just do?" Astrid asked in a quiet voice.

"We used our dragon blood to channel the dragon's soul to the beyond, where it is now at peace." Matt replied.

"I feel strange." Astrid said. "Happy but at the same time terribly sad."

"That's normal." Hiccup said as he embraced her. "We mourn the loss of our sister but embrace the joy that she has now found peace in the beyond."

Astrid nodded her head against Hiccup's chest, still not completely understanding what just happened but decided to leave it for another time.

"Come on." Jack said. "We should probably head over to this mead hall before your dad changes his mind about letting us help him."

xXx

The mead hall was in chaos, everyone and anyone was shouting their opinion on Stoick's announcement that the Vikings and Ash Warriors would be working together with the dragon riders to bring an end to the dragon raids on Berk. Some Viking were willing to give this new tactic a try, considering all other attempts had failed. However other Vikings, mostly the older ones, were dead set against the idea, saying that all dragons and dragon sympathisers deserved to die. These ones would be the hardest to convince. The Viking teens were largely being ignored, or maybe shunned, by the other Vikings. Their obvious friendship with the dragons and the riders had made them a few enemies.

"Order! Order! I will have order!" Stoick shouted over the commotion. His voice silencing all others in the room.

"The Council has decided with a majority vote of 7 votes to 3 that we will hear out the dragon riders and their plan. That is all that has been decided, we have yet to agree to their help or their plan whatever it may be. So everybody calm down!" There was a brief moment of silence before the whole hall erupted back into a chaos of shouting. Stoick fell back into his chair and swiped his hand down his face.

'Odin help me.' Stoick thought. 'Where's Hiccup when I need him?'

Almost on cue the doors to the hall opened and Hiccup, Astrid, Matt, Jack and Lizzy entered, with Toothless trailing behind them. The hall fell silent before hushed whispers spread across the hall, some clearly malicious, others merely curious.

"Greetings. I know that this will be strange for you but-" Hiccup started before being interrupted.

"How dare he dishonor the Gods by bringing that, that thing in here." Mildew shouted pointing his cane at Toothless, who growled in response before being shushed by Hiccup.

"Mildew," Came Stoick's tired response. "Accept that you lost the vote and that we will tolerate these riders and their dragons until we vote on whether to accept their plan or not. Now sit down." Mildew grumbled but obeyed Stoick's order and returned to his seat, glaring at the group. Hiccup made a note to keep an eye on Mildew, he seemed to be the one who was most vocal about his hatred of dragons.

"As I was saying, I believe that with our combined effort we can end the raids on Berk. For those of you who don't already know I am Hiccup and this is my dragon Toothless." Hiccup then pointed to each of his fellow riders and introduced them.

"These are my fellow riders; Matchagra, Elizabeth, Jack and you already know Astrid. Their dragons are Chaka, Precious, Whiplash and Etana, who I have asked to remain outside to make you more comfortable." Matt, Jack and Lizzy made to movement, remaining constantly vigilant of the potential danger around them. Astrid was more obvious in glaring down anyone who gave her disapproving looks.

"Why do they hide their faces?" An older Viking demanded. "What are they trying to hide?"

"The hoods are a tradition of my people, I ask that you respect that." Hiccup said in a demanding tone, which caused the older Viking to back down, which meant Hiccup missed the look of hurt that passed across Stoick's face and the hushed whispers about his choice of people.

"Now I will proceed with the plan. First I need you to think of everything you know about dragons and forget all of it, because it's wrong." There were a few outraged gasps, but Hiccup carried on making his way over to the map table.

"The area of Helheim's gate, where the dragon nest resides is a vast labyrinth of rock, islands and abandoned ships. It is far bigger than you realise." Hiccup said indicating the small corner of the map where it was labelled. "The reason that you have never been able to find the Island is because only a dragon can find it, it's impossible otherwise."

This caused a wave of murmuring, throughout the hall. Many refused to believe it, while others argued that it made sense given that they had never even come close to finding it before.

"Helheim's gate is a lot colder than Berk, any attempt at passing through it by boat would be impossible for the next month, the ice is too thick and even the thickest furs wouldn't keep you warm for long."

"You mean to say that you, your heathen companions and your beasts are going to be here for a month. That wasn't part of the deal." Mildew butted in again.

"I wasn't aware we had made a deal." Hiccup said in a threatening voice. "Now back to the plan. Once the ice melts enough for your boats to pass through we will led them to the island." Hiccup held out his hand and Matt passed him some rolled up parchment that he then rolled out across the table. It was a detail sketch of the island that the dragon nest resided on. This caught the attention of Stoick and many of the council members who rushed forward to get a look at it.

"Your boats will land on the southern shore where you will set up your catapults and defenses. You will then fire at the base of the volcano here. This will alert the Red Death and the nest of dragons to our presence. The dragons realising that the nest is under attack will disperse and flee."

"They won't try and defend it?" Stoick asked.

"No, they are being held there against their will by the Red Death. While it is distracted they will take the opportunity to escape its power. Some may be caught by the Red Death's power but my riders will deal with those, if the event occurs. I want no Vikings engaging any dragons other than the Red Death, are we clear?" Hiccup stared down each council member.

"Hiccup, that's a steep demand." Stoick said.

"Doesn't change the fact that it is still a demand. If you don't agree then these talks stop and I leave now and you'll never find that nest." The atmosphere grew tenser and tenser as Stoick and Hiccup starred each other down.

"If we agree to this plan, then I give you my word that we will not intentionally attack any other dragons." Stoick eventually replied.

"Very well." Hiccup conceded. "The Red Death will then emerge from the volcano and using ground attacks your men will engage the beast. I cannot even begin to accurately express the size of this dragon. It is unlike anything you have ever seen. Weapons will be useless against it, so don't even think about physically engaging it because it would be pointless. My dragons will then take over attacking it from above and luring it into the sky. There will be plenty of rocks to use as cover against the beast fire, but make sure everyone has a shield. Once we have lured the beast into the sky we will attack its wings causing holes to emerge. Then a joint attack by the dragons and whatever ground defenses remain will force the dragon to make a crash landing back onto the island, ending its life and its reign of terror." Hiccup finished.

There were hushed whispers throughout the hall, discussing Hiccup's plan. Stoick was the first to question it. "This plan relies heavily on your dragons, are you sure they can deliver?"

"I'd bet all your lives on it." Hiccup replied. "We'll wait outside while you decide what you want to do." Hiccup, his riders and Toothless left the hall to rejoin their dragons outside. The Viking teens also followed them out, feeling as if they weren't welcome for the discussion and vote.

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked, "Do the dragons in your plan involve us?" His hand resting on Meatlug's head.

"Well if they agree to the plan, I have a month to train you. So depending on how you do in training defines what part you'll play in the plan." Hiccup replied.

"Oh...that's fine."

"Relax Fishlegs, I have faith in you." Hiccup said patting Fishlegs on the back. The riders and Vikings discussed Hiccup's plan amongst themselves while they waited for Stoick to give them an answer. After nearly an hour they were called back into the hall.

"Hiccup," Stoick said from his chieftain chair. "The council and I agree to your plan. I hereby grant you, your companions and your...dragons the right to remain on Berk until such time as your plan succeeds or fails." Stoick announced.

"Very well." Hiccup replied. "We better get started."


	18. Preparation

The days' following the truce between the Vikings and riders was tense but peaceful, for the most part. Hiccup and his riders commandeered the arena space and turned it into a make shift dragon training school for his Viking friends, under the careful but also slightly curious watch of the Viking tribe. Hiccup remained optimistic that his Viking friends would learn quickly and be a great asset in the fight with the Red Death, even after the rocky start they had.

-x-

30 days to the battle

The following morning after the truce had been struck Hiccup woke early at the crack of dawn. For the first time in years Hiccup felt nervous about what the day would bring, could he truly convince the dragons and the Vikings work together? Would he be able to train his friends in time? Would every one make it through the fight? So many questions buzzed around in his head and lying there with Astrid nestled into his side, he was no closer to finding the answers. Carefully he untangled himself from Astrid's grip on him and gently laid her back down on the bedroll, bending down to place a kiss on her forehead. Hiccup stood and silently made his way out the barn that Stoick had given them to live in for the foreseeable future. As far as accommodation went it was a lot better than a prison cell or sleeping rough out doors, so Hiccup couldn't complain. Exiting through the door Hiccup found Toothless already waiting for him.

"Morning bud." Hiccup said in greeting, reaching out to stroke the dragon's head. Toothless purred in response before lunging to lick his riders face.

"Toothless! You know that doesn't wash out." Hiccup shouted in a whisper, conscious of waking any one up. Toothless just laughed in response at his rider's distress. Hiccup scowled at the dragon before cracking a smile and bowing his head to touch Toothless'. "What am I going to do with you?" Hiccup raised his head to look into the dragon's eyes and saw the same worry and concern that he knew his mirrored. Toothless felt his riders anxiety about what the future would bring and tried his best to reassure his rider that as long as they stayed together they would make it through anything.

"You're right bud, we'll be alright. Hey we've fought worse and we're still here." Hiccup chuckled and Toothless squawked in an affirmative. "Come bud, lets go for a fly. Everything always seems easier up there." Hiccup said as he climbed on the dragon's back and Toothless shot into the air, disappearing beyond the clouds. The sun was just rising on the horizon and for the first time since he and his father had struck their truce he felt calm, at peace. Hiccup laid his back down against his dragons and let his instincts guide which way Toothless wanted to fly. But all too soon the nerves began to creep back into Hiccup consciousness. He needed a plan and he needed one before everyone woke up and expected him to have all the answers.

"First things first," Hiccup said pulling himself back up into a sitting position. "We need somewhere to train the others. Somewhere with enough space to train and also for somewhere the dragons can sleep and keep out of trouble." The two of them continued to fly for a moment before Toothless changed their course and picked up speed. Hiccup realising that Toothless had an idea simply let himself be led. It wasn't long before Toothless began circling over the arena.

"The arena bud?" Hiccup asked sceptically. Hiccup didn't think that a place that had seen the deaths of probably thousands of dragons would be the best place to encourage dragons and Vikings to work together. Toothless ignored his rider's doubt and flew through the open gate before landing in the centre of the arena. Hiccup slid off his saddle and gazed around the space before him. It was certainty big enough, it was also on the outskirts of the village so less chance of the dragons having any accidental mishaps with the Vikings. The cells could be converted into pens and equipment and food storage. The more Hiccup thought about it, the more he realised this place was perfect. But Hiccup couldn't help but wonder how some of the dragons might react to being back here. But then Hiccup thought that if he could convince the dragons to forgive and forget, then it would be the first step into securing a peaceful future between Berk and the dragons.

"You bud," Hiccup said turning back to Toothless, "are a genius." Toothless puffed out his chest in response and nodded in agreement. "Come on, we better get back before everyone wakes up." Hiccup said climbing back onto Toothless' saddle and a second later they were back in the air. Even though finding a space to train was just the first hurdle that Hiccup would face in the month to come, Hiccup felt as if a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The anxiety he felt earlier had retreated for the moment and Hiccup felt optimistic that he could accomplish his goal of peace.

Hiccup and Toothless landed outside the barn just as his friends were beginning to stir. Hiccup walked into the barn and immediately went over to Astrid who he could tell was fighting to stay asleep against the noise of the others waking up around her. Hiccup sat down next to her and genteelly swept away the hair that had fallen over her eyes; she smiled in her semi-wakefulness and mumbled his name before finally opening her eyes.

"Morning milady." Hiccup said, gazing down at her.

"Morning." She replied stretching her arms above her head before sitting up and giving Hiccup a kiss. "Where have you been?" She asked as she pulled away.

"I needed to clear my head and sort some things out, but I'm good now." Hiccup smiled and Astrid nodded satisfied.

"So what's the plan for today then?" Astrid asked, getting up from the bedroll and holding a hand out for Hiccup. Hiccup clasped her hand and pulled himself up.

"Well I need to pitch an idea to Stoick about using the arena to train you guys." Hiccup replied starting to gather up some equipment and loading it onto Toothless.

"The arena? Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Actually it was Toothless' idea and yes I think it's a good idea. When you think about it makes sense. Anyway I need you, Jack and Lizzy to go and grab Ruff, Tuff, Fishlegs and the dragons and meet us on the bridge outside the arena. Matt and I need to go and get Snotlout and talk to Stoick and then I'll meet you there, okay?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you to talk to Stoick?" Astrid asked grasping both of Hiccup's hands in her own. Hiccup smiled down at her and pulled her hands up to his lips and kissed them both before replying.

"No, its okay. I'll be fine, I just want to let him know my plans. I'm trying to rebuild trust between us so I don't want to go behind his back about training you guys. If I'm to have any hope at trying to change his mind I need to be open and honest with him."

"Okay then." Astrid replied pulling his head down for a gentle kiss. "I'll go get the others." Astrid then let go of Hiccups hands and turned to Jack and Lizzy who were preparing the days equipment to let them know what Hiccup wanted them to do. Hiccup nodded over to Matt to follow him out the barn. The moment they were outside Matt dragged Hiccup off to the side of the barn away from any Vikings that might pass by.

"Hiccup," Matt said in a serious voice, "we need to talk about what happened yesterday and what this means." Matt grabbed Hiccup's bandaged hand for emphasise.

"I'm not really sure what to say Matt. I've never experienced any dragon that has the power this one wields. Its very essence is poison and it has infected all the dragons under its control. When I made the connection with the Monstrous Nightmare, when it used its power, I felt like I no longer had control. Its power flowed through our connection and I could feel its will over come my own." Hiccup shuddered at the memory; the Nightmares dying screams still haunted his thoughts. "But unfortunately none of that helps us identify a weakness, so as a precaution I'm banning all the riders from forming any connections." Matt nodded in agreement. They were both silent for a moment contemplating the danger that was the Red Death.

"Come on." Hiccup said, "I want to start training as soon as possible. We need to go pick up Snotlout and then talk to Stoick." Hiccup then started walking to the Jorgenson household, Matt falling into step next to him. Both of them were conscious of the looks they were receiving from all the Vikings they passed, some were undoubtedly malicious but Hiccup was pleasantly surprised with how many curious stares they got and even a few fearful ones, which Hiccup hoped he could change soon.

When they got to Snotlout's house, Rowanna answered the door and smiled warmly at them. "Hiccup, Matt." She greeted, "Are you looking for Snotlout? He's just getting ready, he'll be down in a moment. You can come in and wait if you want." Hiccup glanced over her shoulder and saw Snotlout's mother glaring at them with distrust. Hiccup concluded that she was one of the council members who voted no on letting him and his riders stay.

"No its okay," Hiccup replied to Rowanna's invitation, "We'll wait out here for him."

"Are you sure?" Rowanna asked clearly oblivious or maybe ignoring Snotlout's mother dislike for the two riders. Luckily Snotlout came down the stairs at that moment and saw Hiccup waiting for him.

"Hey Hiccup, Matt. I'm ready to go." He said as he walked to the front door.

"Where are you going?!" Snotlout's mother demanded. Before Hiccup had a chance to reply, Snotlout beat him to it.

"Hiccup's going to teach me to train my new dragon." Snotlout said smirking at his mothers opened mouth expression. He then continued to walk to the door, only stopping to bend down to give Rowanna a kiss on the cheek, who blushed so red her face matched her hair, before shutting the door. Hiccup and Matt just laughed and teased Snotlout before informing him of Hiccups plan to train the new riders using the arena. Before Hiccup even realised it, they had arrived at his former home. It hadn't changed a bit, apart from the fact that it had clearly been nearly destroyed a few times and continuously rebuilt. Hiccup took a deep breath and knocked on the door. They heard movement inside and a moment later the door opened.

"Hiccup." Stoick said slightly awkwardly.

"Stoick." Hiccup replied just as awkwardly. "I just came to let you know that I'm going to be using the arena to train my new riders. It's out the way so it shouldn't affect the village but I thought you should know. I was also hoping that you and anyone else in the village would come to a few training sessions so I can really show you that humans and dragons can live in peace."

Stoick was silent for a few moments and simply stared at his son. Hiccup was starting to worry that Stoick would say no when eventually Stoick let out a breath and turned his head to the side before finally replying.

"Fine, I will grant you use of the arena. But you have to keep your dragons under control, I don't want any of the villagers effected by this dragon training you're going to be doing." Stoick finished and marched past the three riders and disappeared into the village. Hiccup noticed how he didn't acknowledge Hiccup's invitation to attend some of the training sessions, but Hiccup maintained optimistic.

Stoick still felt uneasy about the truce he had made with Hiccup and the other riders. Berk and Stoick were both steeped in tradition and tradition dictated that Vikings killed dragons, not make truces with them and invite them to stay on the island. However, Stoick shook off his thoughts on his dragon problem and turned to a more immediate one. The Ash Warriors had come to Berk expecting a marriage and now there was no way it was going to happen. Bolmor seemed like a decent, respectable man but he was still a chief. A chief that Stoick had unintentionally slighted, by promising to marry off his son to Astrid and then not delivering on his promise. For some clans, this would be enough to send them to war, Stoick hoped it wouldn't come to that. Stoick approached the Ash warrior encampment and made his way to Bolmor's tent. As he entered he found Bolmor sat at a table, Dane lying at his feet and Skorm pacing the length of the tent, his dog fast asleep on the other side of the tent, oblivious to his master's anxiety.

"You have some nerve coming here." Skorm said when he spotted Stoick. "Three weeks it took us to get here with the promise of a bride. And now not only do you intend to send us back empty handed but you have made peace with those dragon's pests and their filthy riders."

"Careful what you say boy," Stoick said looking down at Skorm. "One of those riders is my son." Stoick was unsure why he felt the need to defend Hiccup, some kind of lingering paternal instincts perhaps. Skorm just scowled in response.

"Father, will you stand for this insult!" Skorm said turning to Bolmor who had remained silent during the whole exchange. Bolmor remained silent for a moment before turning to Stoick.

"Without a marriage there can be no formal alliance between our tow tribes." However before Stoick could reply, Bolmor had stood up and walked out of the tent, Dane following obediently. Skorm and Stoick both looked confused before following him. Bolmor had walked into the centre of the camp and climbed on top of a table.

"Ash Warriors! Hear me!" Bolmor shouted across the camp. "There will be no marriage between the Ash Warriors and the Hairy Hooligans." There was a chorus of outrage from the crowd, Stoick began to feel uneasy. "Any men that wish to accompany Skorm back to Ferelden may do so. However, if there are any true warriors in this crowd I see before me, then I give you the opportunity of a glorious battle unlike anything you have ever experienced before." There were many enthusiastic shouts from the crowd. "Stay with me and together we will join the Hooligans and we will take on a beast so powerful that even dragons fear it." This statement split the assembled crowd, many cheered in anticipation for such a fight, others angry that the fight was not against Berk.

"You mean you want to help these Vikings, even after they have insulted us!" Skorm shouted in outrage. "How dare you? You've gone soft, you're weak." Skorm spat. "Any true Ash Warrior would not stand for this." There was some agreement from the crowd.

"Go back to Ferelden and lick your wounded pride in peace. Just because you couldn't win the hand of a girl, doesn't mean you can go to war with her tribe." Bolmor laughed, along with the rest of the crowd. Skorm's face flushed bright red in anger and embarrassment and he drew his sword, advancing on his father. But before he had gotten three feet, Dane had charge forward, clamping his sharp fangs on Skorms hand. Skorm managed to shake Dane off but his hand was ruined.

"Look what your mutts done!" Skorm shouted.

"Yes, he came to my aid. Which is more than can be said for Brundr." Skorm sputtered and spun around looking for his Mabari hound and realised he was still asleep in the tent. Skorm marched off without another word, down to the docks. A few other Ash Warriors joined him but the majority stayed. Bolmor jumped off the table and walked towards Stoick.

"If you'll have us, my men and I would be proud to fight along side you in the battle to come." Bolmor said, extending his hand.

"Well I can hardly say no now can I?" Stoick laughed, clasping his hand. "It would be an honor."

-x-

By the time Hiccup, Matt and Snotlout arrived at the bridge leading to the arena it was absolutely full of Vikings and Ash Warriors, all of whom had come to watch the so-called dragon training. Hiccup saw this as a good sign, that the Vikings were at least curious about dragon training. The sea of Vikings parted to let Hiccup and the others through. They eventually found the others halfway along the bridge, the dragons nowhere in sight. Hiccup stood on the edge of the bridge and gathered his new riders to begin their first lesson.

"The first thing you need to know when training a dragon is trust. Training a dragon starts and ends with trust." Hiccup shouted to all the Vikings assembled. "Once you've earned a dragons trust there is nothing you can't do. A dragon's loyalty is the greatest weapon you can ever have, but a dragon is so much more than a weapon. A dragon is your greatest ally. Toothless is an extension of myself I'd trust him with anything, for example I trust him to catch me when I fall." Before anyone even registered what Hiccup had said, he'd already stepped backward off the edge on the bridge and disappeared below, everyone rushed forward and watched helplessly as Hiccup plummeted down to the water below. Then suddenly a black blur shot out of the entrance to the arena and dived off the bridge after Hiccup. When Toothless caught up with his rider, Hiccup reached out to get into his saddle and mere moments before they would hit the water Toothless spread his wings and the two skimmed across the water at a blinding speed, before rising and disappearing beyond the clouds. Every Viking assembled watched with bated breath waiting for Hiccup to remerge from the clouds.

"So…" All the Vikings spun around to face behind them to see Hiccup and Toothless hovering over the other side of the bridge. "Who wants to go first?"

-x-

25 days to the battle

"Okay gang," Hiccup said as Toothless and the other dragons hovered in a circle over the sea just off the coast of Berk. "The past few days we've been focusing on you guys getting used to flying under normal conditions, you guys have exceeded expectations. Honestly you guys have been great." Hiccup has been genuinely surprised with how well his friends had adapted to riding dragons. It gave him hope.

"Really it wasn't that hard." Snotlout laughed, "You just have to establish who is in control. Watch this. Hookfang Up!" Hook fang promptly rolled his eyes and dropped. Snotlout's fearful screams filled the air until Hookfang brought them back up to join the rest of the group. When Snotlout realised he was back up in front of his friends, he crossed his arms and turned his head away from them.

"I meant to do that." He huffed. The whole group laughed before turning back to Hiccup.

"As I was saying, you guys have done really well…but today we're going to do things a little differently. Today you guys are going to learn to fight under battle conditions. Somewhere around Berk Matt, Jack and Lizzy lie in wait to ambush you. Your job is to keep your dragon under control and stay together. The best tactics when facing any enemy group is divide and conquer. When we attack the Red Death it may try to separate us and kill us individually, we must not let that happen. Your dragons will try to either fight or fly when under attack, but you need to control them, guide them to do what you want them to do, ensure they stick to the plan. Now first you need to decide on a leader, someone to keep everyone together."

"Oh oh oh oh, me. I want to be leader!" Tuffnut shouted, practically jumping up and down on his dragon.

"No way am I following him." Ruffnut said.

"You idiot, if I'm leader than your leader as well. We share the same dragon, duh."

"Oh yeah! I vote Tuffnut for leader."

"Okay, that's one vote for Tuffnut. Anyone else want to be leader." Hiccup pleaded.

"I'll be leader." Astrid said.

"Okay, anyone that wants Astrid to lead say aye."

A chorus of ayes followed from everyone including Tuffnut.

"What? You'd have to be crazy to follow me." Tuffnut exclaimed. Hiccup just rolled his eyes.

"Okay guys, fly the route that we've been flying the past few days, your goal is to all make it back here as a group. And remember you may be attacked at any moment so be vigilant. Good luck guys." Hiccup said flying off and disappearing into the hills of Berk.

"Okay guys, lets get going." Astrid said, turning her dragon around. "Arrow formation."

"Who died and made you the boss?" Tuffnut asked sarcastically. "Oh…wait"

Astrid groaned in frustration. "Just do as I say. I don't want any mistakes here guys just do exactly as I say." Astrid said before flying off, the others sticking closely behind.

Astrid remained constantly vigilant as they flew over Berk's landscape, but there was no sign of the ambush. Behind her she heard the twins start to get into an argument but she tried her best to block it out. But before long she couldn't take it anymore.

"Will you two shut up!" Astrid shouted turning behind her to glare at the twins.

"Astrid, look out!" Fishlegs shouted pointing behind her. Astrid turned back around to see a fireball heading straight for them.

"Duck!" She yelled but the twins didn't react fast enough and the fireball missed them by inches but it was enough to scare their Zippleback who turned around and started flying back the way they came.

"Tuffnut! Ruffnut! Get back in formation!" Snotlout shouted, when they still didn't return Snotlout shouted in anger and turned Hookfang around to go after them. "Get back here you two!"

"Wait Snotlout." Astrid shouted but he was to far-gone. "Fishlegs hurry, we can still make it." Astrid urged Etana to carry on forward, and Fishlegs followed behind. Another fireball appeared out of no where but Astrid was more prepared this time and she manoeuvred herself and Fishlegs out the way, but all too soon fireballs started appearing from everywhere. Astrid urged Etana to go faster.

"Slow down Astrid, Meatlug isn't as fast as Etana." Fishlegs shouted to Astrid.

"We have to go faster if we want to win." Astrid carried on manoeuvring Etana through the maze of trees. Just ahead of her she saw the edge of the cliff and just beyond that the finishing point.

"Come girl, just a little more." Astrid whispered.

"Astrid help!" She heard Fishlegs shout. Astrid pulled Etana to a stop and turned around to see Whiplash close on Fishlegs heels. Astrid hurried Etana back to their aid but they were too far ahead and before they could get there Whiplash had already grabbed Fishlegs in his talons and few away, Meatlug having no guidance few back down into the trees to hide. Before Astrid knew it she was completely alone, silence descended and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do. Should she carry on to the finishing point? Go and look for her friends? While she hovered trying to decide what to do, she didn't notice Lizzy and Precious slowly descend from below the clouds until they were directly above them and by then it was too late and Lizzy had already jumped down onto Etana and had a blade pressed to Astrid's throat.

"And you're dead." Lizzy whispered waiting a moment before withdrawing the blade and jumping back onto Precious. Etana growled at the two of them as they flew down to the beach below where Astrid could see the others waiting.

"I know girl, I don't like them either." She patted Etana's neck before descending onto the beach and dismounting to join the others.

"As you've no doubt realised, flying under battle conditions is vastly different from normal flying." Hiccup stated, looking around he saw all his friends looking thoroughly depressed. "Hey guys don't look of glum. I didn't expect you to do it first time, this stuff is hard." Hiccup tried to cheer them up and it worked a bit. "Matt why don't you give them some advice on areas they could improve." Hiccup turned to Matt and mouthed 'help me.' Matt chuckled before stepping forward.

"Well first things first, Astrid. You chose to fly in arrow formation, which is good for when you are in battle. But when your patrolling waiting for an ambush it would have been better to use a diamond formation, therefore you have someone checking the rear. Understand?"

Astrid huffed at being lectured to, especially when what he said made sense, but nodded in understanding.

"Tuffnut, Ruffnut." Matt called to get the twins attention. "Just because Astrid was the leader didn't' mean that she was the only one that has to be on the look out, your distraction gave us the perfect opportunity to launch our ambush. So in future you need to concentrate at all times."

"All the time? That sounds hard." Tuffnut moaned.

"It's either that or die in a fiery death." Jack said.

"Hmmm I like the fire part, but not the death part." Tuffnut replied rubbing his chin in thought a far away look in his eyes.

"Moving on," Matt said, "Snotlout, you can't break formation. If in a fight you lose someone you can't go back for them otherwise you leave yourself and the rest of your group vulnerable. Remember, they are going to try and separate you. You can't let that happen. But if it does, you need to carry on to the best of your ability, it is the responsibility on the member that has been separated to regroup with you when safe to do so. Snotlout, are you paying attention?"

"Huh..what? Yeah…totally. Um could you repeat that last part?"

"Ugh… Just stay in formation." Matt turned to Fishlegs.

"Fishlegs you did well to remain vigilant when Ruff and Tuff were arguing however even though Astrid was the leader, you can still call out instructions. You saw that first fireball before anyone else, yet instead of warning the group you instead wasted precious time waiting for Astrid to give an order that should have been common sense. You all must help your leader." Matt directed the last part to everyone, before again facing Astrid.

"Astrid it was good that during the ambush you kept your sights on the goal of getting to the finishing point. But simply flying faster doesn't help, especially when the other members of your team can't go as fast as you. The increasing gap between you and Fishlegs gave Jack and Whiplash the opportunity to engage Fishlegs and Meatlug without fear of you and Etana as you two were too far ahead to help. Apart from that I think you guys did well, no one died which is always a good sign and if you take on board the things I've just told you, you will definitely do better."

There was a collective huff from the Vikings and then silence descended, the Vikings clearly not happy.

"Hey guys come on," Hiccup said, "We're doing this for you, to keep you guys alive. We're just trying to help. Now do you guys feel like giving it another shot?"

The Vikings shared a look between themselves before signing.

"Fine." They said as they mounted their dragons to have another go.

By the end of the day they had gone through the drill another three times and the Vikings had yet to all make it to the finishing point. Astrid was growing ever more frustrated with their lack of progress despite the fact that Hiccup and Matt said they were getting better. Again they were back on the beach with Matt pointing out areas for improvement.

"…honestly guys, I'm sure the next time you'll do it." Matt finished reassuringly.

"But I think for now we'll call it a day." Hiccup said as the last rays of sunlight lingered on the horizon. Everyone split up to return to their dragons. Just as Astrid was about to mount Etana she over heard Lizzy whispering to Jack.

"I don't know why Hiccup is even bothering trying to teach these idiots. Everyone knows you can't teach a Viking anything, they're too dumb. Honestly they're just not good enough to be dragon riders. I feel sorry for their drag…"

Astrid didn't stick around to hear the rest and jumped on Etana and flew off ignoring the shouts behind her. She carried on flying for a few moments before she felt a presence behind her.

"Go away Hiccup, I want to he alone."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." Hiccup replied bringing Toothless forward until he was parallel with Astrid.

"It's nothing."

"Well it must be something for you to fly off. Is this about training? Because honestly you guys are getting better. Remember its only the first day of combat training, you can't be expected to get it straight away."

"It's not about that! … Well it is but… agh!" Astrid yelled before sending Etana into a dive and landing in the cove, Hiccup following close behind. The two dismounted silently and Astrid turned away from Hiccup before asking.

"Do you think I'm good enough?"

"Huh? Good enough for what?" Astrid huffed before turning to face Hiccup.

"Good enough to be a dragon rider?"

"What? Of course."

"Not just a normal rider though, a rider like you are. Like Matt, Jack and Lizzy."

"Astrid where's this coming from? You are a sister of the Creed, you are like one of us." Hiccup said as he approach her slowly.

"I know, it's just you guys are all so in sync with your dragons and each other. I just feel a bit like an outsider." Astrid finally admitted, bowing her head in shame of having such a stupid insecurity.

"Astrid," Hiccup whispered, using one hand to pull her chin up and the other to push his hood off so he could look into her eyes. "You could never be an outsider, you are a part of me in a way no one else will ever come close to. " Hiccup pulled her into a soft kiss, before pulling back to gaze into her face again.

"As for the others, we've have had our dragons for a lot longer than you have had Etana and we've been traveling together for almost as long. In that time yes we've become in sync but it wasn't always like that. When I first met Toothless I tried to kill him and then the second time he tried to kill me." Hiccup laughed pulling Astrid in to a hug before sinking to the floor. "It was days before Toothless even let me touch him and when we started flying I'm pretty sure he only put up with me just so he could fly again. So believe me, you and Etana are doing better than Toothless and I when we first meet. But one day you and Etana will become as close, it just takes time."

Astrid found it hard to imagine what Hiccup was saying, even when she first discovered he was training dragons over six years ago, he had always seemed so knowledgeable and in control. Astrid couldn't help but laugh as she tried to imagine a young Hiccup desperately trying to train a reluctant Toothless.

"When I first met Matt I'm pretty sure his village wanted to eat me but then when they found out I could ride a dragon they practically worshipped me and Matt hated me for it. He wanted to ride dragons but had been unable to train one and when I offered to help him he told me he'd rather be eaten. And now he's my best friend. So believe me we didn't always get on so well." Astrid thought of Matt and how he always seemed to be so wise and friendly, she couldn't really see him being as petty and angry as Hiccup said he had been.

"When I first meet Jack he tried to kill Toothless and as a result I nearly killed him. Even after I helped him save Whiplash and he became my brother he didn't trust me, wouldn't follow orders, blamed me for his sisters death. It was difficult. But over time we bonded and we eventually earned each others trust." Astrid actually found it easy to imagine this rocky beginning to their relationship, but she couldn't deny that they now both trusted each other with their lives.

"And if you think Lizzy's bad now, you should have seen her when she first started. To afraid to go to high, she didn't want to mess up her hair by going to fast, always wanted to be in charge even when she had no idea what to do. First fight we were ever in together, she cried." Astrid burst out laughing at that, imagining that princess crying in the heat of battle.

'And she thought I wasn't good enough.' Astrid thought.

"So you see, these things take time. One day you will know them as well as you know yourself but it won't be after a few weeks of knowing them."

Astrid nodded against Hiccup's chest; annoyed at herself for letting Lizzy's words get to her. But she was glad that Hiccup had shared these memories with her, she felt a lot better knowing that they were all in fact human and not supreme all-knowing, all-powerful dragons lords that they appeared to be.

"So really you have an advantage over us." Hiccup mussed.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you've known Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut a lot longer than I've known Matt, Jack and Lizzy. You know what their good at, what they're bad at. Use that to your advantage during training."

"But how do I know that all that knowledge will still apply to them when their flying dragons."

"Dragons or no dragons they are still the same people. People don't change no matter what their riding." The both remained in a comfortable silence after that, Astrid already making plans for the next day's dragon training.

"Come on, we should probably get back soon before the others start to worry." Hiccup made an attempt to get up, but Astrid who was sitting on his lap refused to move.

"Can't we just stay here a bit longer, just the two of us?" Astrid pleaded. Hiccup looked down at her and smiled lovingly.

"Of course." He replied lying back down and gathering Astrid in his arms.

The next morning Astrid had a new look of determination on her face as she went and gathered her friends for that mornings training, filling them in on her new ideas for tactics as they made their way to their starting position, where Hiccup was waiting for them.

"Okay guys, we're going to stick with the same drill as yesterday. Remember to stay calm and stick together. And don't worry I have a good feeling about today." Hiccup said smiling at his friends before sending Astrid a wink and flying off.

"Listen up guys, new formation today. I want us flying in single file, I'll be in charge of looking above and ahead, Ruff and Tuff I want you two watching our flanks. Snotlout your in charge of watching the ground, you see any movement I want to know about it. And finally Fishlegs your in charge of bringing up the rear, make sure we're not surprised from behind. And remember guys don't hesitate to call out instructions and stay focused. Now lets go."

The team flew off in Astrid's new formation, each keeping a constant watch on their designated area. They flew their designated route for a while with no sign of the ambush when suddenly…

"Bank left!" Snotlout shouted, the dragons following his instruction without hesitation as a fireball shot past them.

"Dragon coming up behind us!" Fishlegs shouted. Astrid turned to see Chaka gaining on Fishlegs.

"Remember Fishlegs, just like how we discussed." Astrid shouted back, Fishlegs nodded in response.

"Are you ready girl?" Fishlegs asked patting Meatlug on the head, who growled in response. Matt and Chaka were right behind them now.

"Spin!" Fishlegs shouted and Meatlug followed his command, spinning around and using her rock hard tail to knock Chaka far off to the side

"I can't believe that worked." Fishlegs shouted as he corrected himself back into formation.

"Good work Fishlegs." Astrid shouted. "But keep focused, the others are still out there."

"Dragon incoming from the right." Tuffnut shouted. They all look to see Precious flying towards them preparing to fire.

"Dive into the trees!" Astrid shouted, directing Etana down, and the others following behind her.

"Fishlegs did she follow?" Astrid shouted.

"That is a negative, we are clear from behind." Fishlegs replied keeping a lookout behind him.

'Where did she go?" Astrid though.

"Astrid she's going to come at us from above, its what I would do." Ruffnut shouted. Astrid saw the logic in that tactic.

"Ruffnut release a cloud of gas above us." Astrid ordered.

"On it." Ruffnut replied urging Barf to raise his head and release the gas. Astrid immediately heard Precious squawk from somewhere above the trees at being unable to see.

"Tuffnut now!"

"My pleasure." Tuffnut said as he urged Belch to ignite the gas. The following explosion gave Astrid the perfect opportunity to alter their course to hide their movements and keep them hidden in the trees. Astrid was sure that Jack was still out their somewhere. Not far ahead Astrid could see the edge of the tree line and just beyond that the finishing point. She nearly urged her team to increase their speed but stopped herself at the last second remembering that it would be better to go at a slower pace and remain vigilant. It was a good thing too because just ahead of them beyond the trees suddenly erupted in flames, Jack having clearly anticipated Astrid to speed up near the end. However as Astrid kept her pace she was far enough away to redirect everyone up out of the trees and over Jack and Whiplash. Jack who was clearly not happy at having missed them urged Whiplash to pursue them. Astrid could see that they were aiming to grab Snotlout but as they were closing in Snotlout shouted.

"Hookfang, flame up!" Fireworm suddenly burst into flames scaring off Jack and Whiplash. The four of them finally all made it to the finishing point and erupted into cheers and shouts before descending onto the beach below. Hiccup, Matt, Jack and Lizzy caught up with them and congratulated them on finally completing the drill.

"Well done guys, I'm so proud of you." Hiccup shouted trying to be heard over the cheering. Astrid ran you to him and jump onto him, wrapping her legs around his middle and kissing him deeply. When she pulled back she cradled his face.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Don't thank me," He replied, "That was all you. I always knew you could do it."

-x-

17 days to the battle

After a long day of dragon training the riders had retired to the mead hall for their evening meal. Whilst the other Vikings no longer stared at them with open hostility as they had at first, they still weren't exactly welcomed when they entered the hall. They were outcast to a far table and very few Vikings would even speak to them. However in recent days, with the progress of the dragon training improving, a few Viking had ventured over to talk to them and ask them questions about dragons. Hiccup saw this as a very good sign, however there was still a small minority that Hiccup was wary off. These Vikings were very openly hostile to Hiccup, the other riders and the dragons. Whenever anything went wrong they were quick to blame the riders or the dragons, even though there was no way they could have been involved. The one Viking who was most outspoken was Mildew. Everyday he had some new complaint to make to either Hiccup or Stoick. Even Hiccup who always thought that he had a lot of patience and a good peacemaker was starting to get annoyed by Mildew's lack of cooperation. Hiccup cast a glance to the table where Mildew usually sat and found him suspiciously absent. Hiccup made a mental note to find out where he'd gone.

"Hiccup, I have a favour to ask?" Mulch asked. Hiccup turned to look at Mulch and saw Bucket standing next to him, his ever-present vacant smile plastered on his face.

"Mulch, Bucket." Hiccup nodded in greeting. "What can I do for you?"

"Well Bucket and I were wondering if maybe you and one of your dragons could give us a hand to with some tasks that Stoick's asked us to complete. You see it's just we want to get them completed as soon as possible so we can prepare for our voyage to the dragons nest."

"Sure thing Mulch, what kind of jobs did you have in mind?"

"Oh nothing too big, just a bit of help filling our fishing nests, plowing and planting a few of the back fields, building a new well, construct a dam and catch a few wild boars."

"No problem. I'll meet you in the town square at noon."

"Thanks Hiccup." Mulch replied.

"Yeah Hiccup, thank you very much." Bucket added and Mulch dragged him away.

Hiccup turned back to the table and saw all his friends smiling at him, thinking the same as he was. Mulch and Bucket coming to ask them and their dragons for help was a big leap forward in gaining the Viking's trust and acceptance. If the rest of the village could see dragons making their day-to-day lives better then there is a chance that they could learn to accept the dragons.

Hiccup and his friends started up their conversation about that day's dragon training again and they continued to talk and eat, with the occasional Viking coming over to say hello. Hiccup was momentarily distract when he noticed Mildew enter the hall and snuck off to his usual table trying not to draw too much attention to himself. Hiccup thought it was odd, but knew he couldn't question Mildew on his whereabouts purely because he didn't trust him. So Hiccup returned to his friend's conversation. Suddenly a loud explosion that shook the mead hall was heard outside. Everyone rushed up from their seats and ran out the doors. At the bottom of the hill stood the smouldering remains of a house, with Toothless stood next to it.

"What's going on here?" Stoick bellowed as he elbowed himself to the front of the crowd, a mixture of emotions flashed across Stoick's face before settling on anger. But before Stoick could say anything Mildew decided to get involved.

"I warned you Stoick. I warned you something like this would happen if you let these wild beasts stay on the island. But now it's too late and some unfortunate soul has to pay the price. Will you let this continue until these dragons have burned down every house on Berk."

"Calm yourself Mildew, Berk is no stranger to having its houses burnt down. But I will get to the bottom of this. Hiccup!" Stoick shouted the last bit turning to try and locate his son in the crowd. Hiccup manoeuvred himself through the crowd but ignored Stoick in favour of walking over to Toothless.

"Hey bud, what have you been up to?" Hiccup asked rubbing his head.

"What's he been up to?! That's all you've got to say. I think it's pretty obvious what he's been up to!" Mildew yelled pointing his staff at the burnt wreckage.

"Mildew!" Stoick shouted. "I will be doing the questioning here." He glared at Mildew until he backed down before turning back to Hiccup.

"Hiccup, what happened?" Stoick asked, but before Hiccup could answer a Viking came running out of a nearby house.

"I know what happened Stoick. I saw the whole thing. " The Viking, who's name escaped Hiccup at that moment.

"Tell me what happened then." Stoick asked.

"It was him!" He shouted, pointing at Toothless. "I saw him walk into that house and then moments later he ran out and then the whole house burst into flames."

"That's not true!" Hiccup shouted.

"They've broken the truce Stoick, we must retaliate." Mildew shouted, turning to the assembled crowd who slowly started nodding.

"Stoick." Hiccup said getting his fathers attention, "I know Toothless didn't do this."

"Well unless you can provided some substantial evidence, there is nothing I can do."

"I can tell you exactly what happened."

"And how can you do that?" Stoick asked disbelievingly.

"Toothless can show me." Before Stoick could ask Hiccup to clarify what he meant, Hiccup had turned his back to him and knelt down in front of Toothless.

"Come on bud show me what happened." Hiccup bent his head forward to touch his forehead against Toothless'. When he opened his eyes they were no longer his emerald orbs, instead Toothless' acidic green eyes starred back. Hiccup could see the mead hall as it was moments ago, when Toothless was sat outside waiting for his rider. Suddenly Toothless heard a noise and Hiccup felt Toothless perk his ears up to locate the noise. Toothless pinpointed the noises origin to a nearby house. Hiccup watched through Toothless' eyes as he approached the house and pushed his nose against the door. It opened easily, clearly it had been left unlocked. The house was dark but Toothless could see clearly. There was a faint glow coming from a door off to the side and Toothless went to investigate. Behind the door he saw a lit fuse emitting a small glow as it slowly travelled towards a pile of barrels. Toothless having realised what was about to happen ran out of the house seconds before the whole building went up in flames. Toothless then turned to see a massive crowd of Vikings descending down on him, Hiccup felt Toothless' fear at what the Vikings would do to him and then his relief at seeing Hiccup appear.

Hiccup blinked, his eyes returning to normal. He pulled himself away from Toothless and stroked his head as Toothless purred.

"Don't worry bud, I won't let anything happen to you." Hiccup whispered before turning back to face the crowd.

"Someone rigged the house to explode using black powder and then attracted Toothless' to the house to frame him."

"What a preposterous accusation!" Mildew shouted, "How dare you make up outrageous lies just to cover up the devastation your beast has caused."

"It's not lies, I saw it happen! You wouldn't understand but I saw what Toothless saw and that house was rigged!" Stoick signed and looked between the burnt wreckage, Toothless and the spectating crowd.

"I'm afraid I can't take what you say you, I mean Toothless saw, as hard evidence. Anyway everyone was in the mead hall for evening meal, so who could have possibly have rigged the house."

"Mildew!" Hiccup announced. "He was late coming to the mead hall. In fact he only came in moments before the house exploded."

"What are you on about boy? I was in the mead hall all evening." Mildew spat.

"ooh-ooh" Everyone turned to see Bucket jumping up and down. "Hiccup is right, Mildew came in late. I remember because Mildew walked past our table. Didn't he Mulch, didn't he. You remember, remember when he walked past. You remember don't you?"

"Yes Bucket I remember." Mulch said calming Bucket down from his excitement. "Bucket's right Stoick, Mildew did only arrive at the Mead Hall moments before the explosion." A few other Vikings in the crowd nodded, also having seen Mildew arrive late.

"So what if I arrived late? I simply lost track of time taking care of my sheep Fugus. You can't accuse me of blowing up a house just for being a bit forgetful." Mildew argued.

"But you did lie about your whereabouts Mildew. That alone warrants suspicion." Stoick mussed.

"That and the fact that even before we made the truce he hasn't exactly made it a secret that he hates our dragons being here." Jack shouted and the rest of the riders and even some Vikings nodded in agreement.

"I am entitled to my own opinion on dragons and it is an opinion that is shared by many." Mildew shouted and there were a few cheers from the crowd.

"Enough!" Stoick shouted, before this argument erupted into a full on fight. "Mildew in the future do not lie to me again." Stoick threatened and Mildew took an involuntary step back. "Hiccup, for now I will give you the benefit of the doubt but it's your job to rebuild this house. Everyone else returned to the mead hall or go home, there's nothing to see here." The crowd quickly began to disperse but before he could escape Hiccup blocked Mildew's way.

"I know it was you who caused that explosion." Hiccup accused.

"Oh yeah, prove it." Mildew spat and made a move to walk around Hiccup but Hiccup grabbed his arm to halt him.

"You do not want to make me your enemy. You will regret it." Hiccup whispered and took pleasure in the flash of fear in Mildew's eyes before walking away back towards his friends.

"Hiccup." Stoick shouted and beckoned Hiccup over to him. "I'm giving you one last warning Hiccup. Nothing like this can happen again." Stoick punctuated by pointing at the houses remains.

"It won't, I promise." Hiccup replied. Stoick looked back between Hiccup and Toothless, sighed and shook his head before walking back up to the Mead Hall.

"What do you want to do Hiccup?" Matt asked, coming up behind Hiccup and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Nothing for now, we continue as before. But from now on I want someone's eyes on the dragons at all time. If Mildew attempts to frame one of the dragons again we need concrete proof that it wasn't any of ours."

"It would be easier to kill him." Lizzy said casually, pulling one of her knives out her robes and twirling it innocently.

"You have no idea how tempting that is but for now we can't risk upsetting the village. And even though most of the village can't stand him, he is still a fellow Viking. Now give me a hand cleaning up this mess, it needs to be done before training tomorrow and I've got to help out Bucket and Mulch."

"No way Hiccup" Snotlout laughed, "The Chief said you had to rebuild that house, not us." Everyone laughed as Snotlout walked away but then the twins just shrugged and followed him and then the rest of them walked away laughing.

"Guys?" Hiccup said disbelievingly.

-x-

9 days to the battle

Hiccup had decided to leave Matt in charge of dragon training today so he could help out at the forge, Stoick wanted everyone's weapons in peak condition as well as having back up weapons as well as the general day to day things that the forge was needed for. The current blacksmith Eric, Hiccup still felt a pang whenever he thought of anyone but Gobber working in the forge, couldn't cope with the demand and was grateful when Hiccup offered his assistance and had quickly got used to Hiccup's pet shadow that constantly remained at his rider's side.

"Hiccup how are those swords coming along?" Eric asked from his workstation.

"Sharp as a new born Razorwhip." Hiccup replied feeling along one particular blades edge.

"Huh what's a Razorwhip?" Eric asked.

"Nevermind." Hiccup laughed "I'll explain it to you another time."

"Ok whatever." Eric replied. "You know Hiccup if we carry on working at this pace, we might actually finish the order that Stoick put in a couple days early."

"Lets hope so." Hiccup replied, starting work on another axe. They carried on working in silence for a while when they heard a shout from the docks.

"Ship spotted on the horizon!" Someone called out. Ever curious Hiccup told Eric he was going to check out this ship and that he would be right back to which Eric only faintly nodded, too engrossed in his work to take much notice.

"Come on bud." Hiccup said as he flew down to the dock, where he saw Stoick waiting with a confused look on his face.

"So whose ship is that?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know." Stoick replied, "it's the wrong time of year to be trader Johann. Its only a single ship so it can't be the outcasts or the berserkers…unless it's a distraction while other boats land somewhere else on the island." Before Stoick could even send off a command for a group to go and scout out the rest of the island, Hiccup had already mounted Toothless.

"I'll go do a quick sweep of the island to see if there are any more ships approaching." Before Stoick could even reply Hiccup had already flew off.

Not long later Hiccup returned reporting that there were no other ships surrounding Berk.

"You checked all of Berk? You were barely gone any time at all." Stoick asked doubtfully.

"Well yeah dad, that's how long it takes when you're ridding a dragon." Hiccup chuckled and went back to starring at the ship. He was so engrossed in this mystery ship that he didn't even notice that he had called Stoick dad. Stoick on the other hand had noticed and had to fight to keep himself from sheading tears. It was at that moment that Stoick realised that there was a chance that he could mend his relationship with his son. Hiccup failed to notice Stoick's inner revelation as he was rummaging around in Toothless' saddlebag. He eventually found what he was looking for, his spyglass. He held it up to his eye and focused in on the ship to try and find any clues as to who it could be.

"Stoick, you're not going to believe this." Hiccup eventually said.

"What?" Stoick asked, slightly panicked by Hiccup's vagueness.

"The ship is flying Berk's banner."

"What how can that be? No ships have left the island for weeks."

"See for yourself." Hiccup held the spyglass to Stoick, who took it hesitantly and mimicked what Hiccup did.

"By Thor, that's incredible." Stoick said taking the spyglass away from his eye and then putting it back repeatedly. Hiccup only laughed before redirecting Stoick's gaze back to the approaching ship.

"You're right Hiccup, that is Berk's banner." Stoick said handling the spyglass back to Hiccup. "But who could it be?"

Hiccup and Stoick stood waiting for the ship to dock and when it eventually did, they waited with bated breath for the sailor to emerge. A chorus of gasps from every Viking present shattered the silence as the sailor hopped off the boat.

"Oh my Thor." Stoick and Hiccup both whispered at the same time.

"Pick your jaws up from the floor everyone. You look like I've come back from Valhalla." Gobber laughed. Everyone remained silent as they just starred at him. Hiccup noticed that he hadn't changed a bit since the last time he had seen him, he still had his two remaining limbs left and his moustache still hung down to his knees.

Gobber's gaze focused on the two people stood in front of him. Gobber thought that Stoick looked different from the last time he'd seen him, better. Like how he used to look before Hiccup's final dragon training exam. Hiccup on the other hand couldn't have looked more different. He had gotten even taller and his body was filled out with muscle. And he had a new air of confidence about him that he never had before despite the fact that he currently looked like a yak had kicked him in the face. In short Hiccup had grown into a fine young man, just like Gobber always new he would.

"Well you can imagine my surprise when there I was sat in a tavern over in Ferelden and I get chatting to this Ash warrior mercenary. He was telling me all about how he accompanied his chief to his son's marriage negotiation on the neighbouring island of Berk. He then went on to tell me that mid tournament Berk's chief's long lost son shows up, on the back of a dragon no less, and all but bests his father in a fight and then steals the Ash Warrior chiefs sons intended and then makes a deal to help them destroy the dragons nest. Well as you can imagine, I had to find out if this was true for myself. So here I am and here you are Hiccup…it's really good to see you." Gobber finished. Hiccup still couldn't find the ability to speak and just starred at his long lost mentor.

"Come on boy, you must have something to say to me, it has been six years." Gobber laughed slapping Hiccup on the shoulder.

"Gobber!" Hiccup shouted. "I can't believe you're here." Hiccup stepped forward and hugged the older man.

"I could say the same to you. Never thought I'd see the day you would return to Berk. How are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Oh my Thor, of course. Gobber this is Toothless, Toothless this is Gobber." Toothless simply snarled at Gobber, who thankfully laughed it off.

"Sorry, he doesn't particularly like new people." Hiccup apologised patting Toothless on the head.

"No worries, he is a dragon after all."

Stoick had remained silent throughout this exchange. He couldn't help but feel ashamed for the way he had treated Gobber, but also he was slightly angry at him. Just when he thought he could make a connection with Hiccup, Gobber returned and he knew that when Hiccup eventually looked at him again he would see the same anger he saw when he fought Hiccup in the arena.

"Gobber." Stoick finally called out. Everyone lapsed back into silence wondering what he would say to the exiled warrior.

"Yes Stoick?"

"I…I…What I me…ugh." Stoick sighed trying to find the right words to say, he looked over at Hiccup who maintained a rather blank expression, but Stoick knew that what he did in this moment would change the way his son looked at him forever. Gobber remained patiently silent, waiting for Stoick.

"I'm sorry." Stoick said in a rush. "I'm man enough to admit when I've made a mistake and exiling you off the island for telling me things I didn't want to hear was a mistake. Tell me Gobber, can I ever earn your forgiveness?"

Gobber remained silent for a moment and Stoick feared he would say no. But eventually Gobber took a step forward and placed his hand on Stoick's shoulder.

"Stoick you have always been and will always be my chief, my friend and my brother. I understood then just as I do now how you felt and I do not blame you for it. So lets leave it in the past and from now on we will just say I've been on a very long vacation." Gobber laughed and not long after Stoick and Hiccup joined him. If Gobber could leave the past in the past, then so could he Hiccup decided as he looked at the two men embrace each other.

"Now come let us catch up and get to work. I tell you if anyone's messed with my forge there will be Hel to pay." Gobber shouted as he marched up the hill from the docks to the centre of town.

"I know that was hard for you, to admit that you were wrong." Hiccup said to Stoick as they followed Gobber. "But you did the right thing."

"Yes but doing the right thing now does not make up for my past mistakes." Stoick replied.

"Nothing we can do will ever erase our past, all we can do is try and make a better future." Hiccup said clapping Stoick on the back before running ahead to catch up with Gobber.

'Try and make a better future.' Stoick thought as he gazed up at his son and friend and the dragon that trailed along behind them. Maybe he could do that.

-x-

4 days to the battle.

It was late in the evening and Hiccup and Stoick were still in the chief's house going over plans and decisions for the coming battle. Stoick had already decided what warriors he was taking with him and had arranged them into formations using Hiccup's advice for the best areas to provide cover fire for his dragons. Hiccup had already outlined his plan to Stoick step by step multiple times so they both could ensure it was fool proof, well as fool proof as any plan against a giant dragon can be.

"I think we are finally ready." Hiccup announced, as he looked over the confirmation that all the ships had been loaded with the supplies and weapons Hiccup and Stoick had requested.

"I agree, we are as prepared as we will ever be for the coming battle." Stoick agreed, gathering up his maps and plans on the table and tidying them away.

"Well I better bet back to the barn." Hiccup said standing up.

"Yeah…Yeah" Stoick said, "Or you could stay and we could talk about stuff. Some non dragon nest attack plans stuff." Stoick clearly felt awkward and uncomfortable and Hiccup appreciated that his dad was trying to reach out to him.

"Umm yeah…if you want." Hiccup replied, lowing himself back down into the chair. "Um what do you want to talk about?"

"Um…why don't you tell me now you first met Toothless? I still don't actually know." Stoick said nodding his head to the dragon that was asleep by the fire.

"You really want to know?" Hiccup asked disbelievingly.

"Well he is a big part of your life now, so I'd like to know a little more about how it all happened." Stoick asked and was surprised that he found himself actually meaning what he said.

Hiccup then proceed to tell his father how the night that he claimed to have shot down a Night Fury, he actually did and how he went out the next day and found him trapped and hurt. Hiccup explained that when he looked at Toothless and saw nothing but fear in his eyes, how in that dragon he saw a reflection of himself and could not kill him. Hiccup then filled his father in on how he realised that Toothless could no longer fly without his missing tail fin and how Hiccup built him a new one in secret. Hiccup laughed at his retelling of training Toothless and learning to fly, Stoick even found himself laughing along with Toothless.

"And then the day of the final exam came and everything changed." Hiccup finished, a heavy cloud of silence descended between them. Stoick was desperate to cling to this bonding moment, so before Hiccup could get up to leave, Stoick tried his best to get him to open up to him again.

"What about after? Tell me about the world you've seen. Tell me about dragons or about your friends or about other cultures. Just share some more stories with me, please…son."

Hiccup really looked at his father for the first in what must have been over six years. He looked…old, weathered. As if for the last six years he hadn't really been living just simply alive. But in these last few moments he looked like the Stoick Hiccup remembered.

"Sure thing…dad."

Meanwhile over on the other side of Berk Astrid lay on her bedroll waiting for Hiccup to return from his meeting with Stoick. Ever since Gobber's return Hiccup and Stoick had been different around each other. Astrid thought that they had both finally let go of any residual anger they had for each other and they were slowly starting to reconnect. Astrid couldn't be happier for the both of them as she could tell, even though Hiccup tried to hide it, that Hiccup still craved approval from his father.

Outside the barn Astrid heard a noise and assumed it was Hiccup returning from his meeting. So Astrid silently got up as the other riders were sleeping and exited the barn. However when she walked out the door it was not Hiccup who she expected but Lizzy who was returning from a late night patrol of the island.

"Oh." Astrid said, "I thought you were Hiccup."

"Sorry to disappoint." Lizzy replied not pausing from unbuckling Precious' saddle to look at Astrid.

Astrid bristled at the sarcastic tone in which Lizzy spoke to her but tried to calm herself down. She was going to be spending the foreseeable future with Lizzy so she might as well try and get on with her.

"Lizzy do you mind if I ask you something?"

"I can't really stop you, but I won't promise I'll answer." Astrid tried not to get annoyed.

"During the joining I saw images…visions of you guys. In one of the visions I saw of you, you were with a man. I was just wondering who he was." If Astrid hadn't been watching Lizzy closely, she would have missed the stunned pause in her movements before she quickly recovered and finished unbuckling the saddle and standing up to remove it. Astrid didn't think Lizzy was going to answer until she turned around to face her and actually lowered her hood, something that she had never done around Astrid before.

"That man was my husband." Lizzy eventually said. "He's dead now."

Astrid was shocked at Lizzy's answer as it was not something she expected. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Don't be sorry, I'm the one who killed him." Lizzy shrugged. Astrid was so surprised she couldn't keep her jaw from dropping.

"What happened?" Astrid eventually asked.

"When I turned 16 my father wanted to wed me off to the son of a neighbouring lord, it was expected of me so I didn't argue. I'd never met him before but I knew he was 8 years older than me and I'd heard rumours that he was a cruel man. My wedding day came and went and I become the property of my dear husband Edward." Lizzy said sarcastically. "From the very beginning he was cruel, possessive and took anything and everything he wanted from me. You think Skorm was bad, Edward was a million times worse. Over the next year I tried to avoid him as best I could and spent as mush time as possible out of the castle. There I first met Precious, I would spend hours just watching her and following her about but I never dreamed of approaching her." Lizzy said as she affectionately stroked Precious' mane.

"Then one day I was out watching Precious when I met Hiccup and Matt, I recognised their robes instantly, as a member of their order had visited my fathers castle once when I was a girl. I felt excitement for the first time since I had gotten married and spent as much time as possible with them during the following month without my husband finding out. They taught me to train Precious and I couldn't have been more thankful to them. But one evening Hiccup was walking me back towards the castle as he insisted on doing every time we met, although I insisted he could only take me so far before I would continue on my own. At the time I didn't notice that my husband was returning from a hunt in the forest when he spotted the two of us together. When I retired to my bedchamber he was waiting for me. He beat me for my disloyalty even though I hadn't done anything wrong. For days I couldn't leave my bed because of the pain and one day when the castle physician was looking me over she told me that I had been pregnant but due to the strain my body had been put under I had miscarried. I had never hated my husband more than in that moment. Days later when I could finally move my body again without it hurting I had only one thing on my mind. I snuck into my husband's bedchamber at night when he was sleeping, woke him up with a knife to his neck and told him I would never let him hurt me again and slit his throat. I ran away that night still in my blood soaked nightdress and ran to Hiccup and Matt's camp praying that they would still be there. Thankfully they were and I told them what I had done and begged them to take me away with them, to make me a dragon rider. In that moment of fear and desperation Hiccup took me in his arms and promised me everything would be okay. We left that night and I've never looked back."

Astrid was in complete shock at Lizzy's story, when she's asked Lizzy about the man in her vision she hadn't expected anything like that.

"Thank you for sharing that with me." Astrid finally said, "I can imagine that wasn't easy and me being the last person you would want share that with."

"You are my sister now Astrid. I know I haven't exactly been welcoming and I'm sorry for that." Lizzy reluctantly admitted, "But Hiccup is very important to me, he was my knight in shinning armor when I needed one most and it hurt to see that he didn't feel the same way about me that I did about him. But he is happy now and that's all I want for him." Lizzy finally finished.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I hope one day we can put the last couple weeks behind us and start fresh as sisters." Astrid extended her hand out and Lizzy grasped it and shook it firmly as they both smiled at each other.

They both turned to see Hiccup approaching and Lizzy just waved at him before entering the barn and walking over to her bed roll next to Jack who stirred awake at her movements.

"Hey you okay?" Jack asked as Lizzy lay down.

"Yeah I'm good." She replied turning away from him to go to sleep.

"Okay then." Jack replied falling back into sleep, but just before he did he felt Lizzy turn over and shuffle over to him before curling up into his side and falling asleep.

"Hey." Hiccup said as he approached Astrid wrapping his arms around her. "What was that about?" He asked nodding his head to the door Lizzy had just walked through.

"Nothing just girl talk." Astrid replied against his chest, before pulling away from him to look at his face and ask, "How was the meeting with your father?"

"It was really good actually. I feel like we really bonded for the first time in well ever."

"I'm so happy for you." She smiled before grabbing his hands and pulling him towards the barn. "But you can tell me about it in the morning because I've had to stay up waiting for you, because I can't sleep without you by my side.

-x-

1 day to the battle

Tomorrow morning, they would be setting off on their voyage to the dragon's nest. Hiccup had trained his friends as much as he could in the time they had been given and he thought they were fine dragon riders and he was happy to place his utmost trust in their abilities. He had shared as much knowledge he knew about the nest and the Red Death with Stoick and the other Vikings and they had formulated the perfect plan. Hiccup knew he couldn't be more prepared, yet he still felt nervous, almost scared at what would happed tomorrow. Hiccup was scared that they might lose someone, might lose a dragon or that the plan would fail them. Hiccup had to get rid of these thoughts, they would only hold him back tomorrow but they refused to leave him. It was getting late and he needed to go the Mead Hall soon to get some food if he had any hope of being at his peak tomorrow, so he guided Toothless down onto a cliff at the edge of the village and tried to calm his thoughts.

"There you are." A voice behind him said. Hiccup turned to see Astrid and Etana landing behind them. Astrid jumped down and came to stand next to him looking out at the dark sea illuminated by the moon. "What are you doing here?" She finally asked.

"Just trying to clear my head." Hiccup replied.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"What? No of course not." Astrid gave him a look that said don't try and lie to me. "Okay, yes I'm scared."

"What are you scared of?"

"I don't even know, loads of things. Losing the battle, losing my father, losing Toothless, losing Gobber, losing my friends…losing you." Hiccup said reaching out and lacing his fingers through her own. They remained in silence for a few moments before Astrid spoke up.

"It's good to fear loss." She said. Hiccup just looked at her like she was crazy. Astrid just laughed and turned to him grabbing his other hand to make him face her.

"The fear of losing something can be scary yes, but it can also make you fight harder than you ever thought you could to make sure you don't lose it. There is nothing I fear more in this world than losing you Hiccup," She released one of her hands to push his hood back and brush his fringe out of his eyes before grabbing his hand again. "And I will fight as hard as I can tomorrow and for the rest of my life to make sure that never happens."

"What did I do to deserve you?" Hiccup whispered pulling Astrid closer to him and leaning his forehead against hers.

"You don't, so you'll just have to keep working harder to deserve me." Astrid teased pulling away from him.

"Oh that's how its going to be is it." Hiccup laughed refusing to let go of her hands. "Come here." He said as he pulled her towards him and kissed her passionately. After a while he reluctantly pulled away and nodded towards the village. "We should probably head over to the mead hall if we want to eat."

When they got to the mead hall everyone else was already sat down eating and drinking, talking about the battle tomorrow, however there was a rather sombre atmosphere to the room. Astrid and Hiccup walked over to the table their friends were sitting at and dished themselves some food.

"How's moral looking?" Hiccup asked Jack.

"Pretty low I'm afraid, I don't know what it is but these Viking just don't seem to be ready for the fight." Jack replied as they looked around the hall to see everyone either silent or talking in hushed whispers, a far cry from the norm of boisterous laughing that usually filled the hall.

"Everyone, can I have your attention please. Everyone!" Hiccup shouted as he stood up on the table. The hall fell completely silent as everyone starred at Hiccup. "As you all know, tomorrow we set sail for the dragons nest. Tomorrow will mark the end you citizens of Berk living in fear of when the next dragon raid will happen, of which loved one will you lose, of not knowing if you have enough food to make it through the winter. Tomorrow will mark a new era for Berk, an era of peace for all, both man and dragons. Tomorrow I will take my friends and loved ones into battle but there are no other people on the planet I trust more than the people sat round me now. Tomorrow I will fight for each and everyone of you and for every dragon living in fear under the Red Death. And tomorrow we will succeed. Now I invite you all to join me in a toast, to Vikings and dragons living in peace."

The hall remained silent as everyone starred at Hiccup. Suddenly Hiccup doubted the bridges he had been building over the last month, all the times Vikings had expressed to him their desire for an end to the fighting. When suddenly the noise of a chair scraping back caused everyone to turn their heads as the chief stood up from his table at the top of the Mead Hall. He looked around the hall before his eyes landed on Hiccup and slowly he raised his tankard. "To Vikings and dragons living in peace." Stoick shouted. Everyone looked at their chief in disbelief when another person stood up.

"To Vikings and Dragons living in peace." Gobber shouted.

"To Vikings and Dragons living in peace." Mulch and Bucket shouted.

"To Vikings and Dragons living in peace." Eric shouted.

And not before long every Viking was standing up and raising their tankards to toast and cheer. Laughter and celebration soon filled the hall as everyone drank. Hiccup turned to his father and nodded, raising his own tankard before downing its contents. Hiccup then jumped down off his table and retook his seat. He then refilled his tankard and raised it again to his friends. "To the best Vikings and Dragon riders anyone could ask for."

-x-

The day of the battle…


	19. The Battle

"You think you can save them… But you can't!"

"You will fail…"

"You can't compete with my power!"

"You are nothing compared to me, you are insignificant…"

"I will destroy you all!"

Hiccup jerked awake covered in a cold sweat, the Red Death's voice still ringing in his head. Hiccup was unsure if it had just been a nightmare or if the Red Death was somehow taunting him. Hiccup looked around and saw that his friends we still fast asleep. With no hope of getting back to sleep Hiccup decided to get some air and snuck out of the barn and found that the sun had still not yet risen. Toothless padded over to him seeking comfort.

"Did you feel it too bud?" Hiccup asked, bending down to look Toothless in the eyes. Toothless nodded in response to Hiccup's question and let out an involuntary shiver.

"Oh Bud, what if it's right? What if we can't defeat it?" Hiccup asked. Toothless withdrew his face from Hiccups embrace and growled before butting heads with Hiccups chest as if to say, 'get a hold of yourself, we can defeat anything.'

"I hope you're right bud, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, any of you." Turning back to the barn where his friends lay, completely oblivious to Hiccups current turmoil.

The sun was just staring to rise on the horizon, everyone would be waking up soon to set sail. "Come on bud, let's go on a quick flight, get rid of this nervous energy." Toothless practically rolled his eyes in an 'I thought you'd never ask gesture.' Hiccup mounted Toothless and the two flew off into the sky disappearing in the light of the rising son.

As time passed Hiccup watched as the village began to stir and begin preparations for the voyage. Vikings marched down to the docks with barely contained excitement for the battle ahead.

Hiccup noticed movement over by the barn and noticed that the other riders had begun preparations for the day as well. Hiccup, Eric and Gobber had worked relentlessly over the past few days to make armour and saddles for the dragons, which the other riders were now fitting them into, Hiccup had even made a brand new tail fin made out of the scales that Toothless had shed so it would be fire proof. Hiccup flew over to them and landed Toothless near the barn.

"This new metal you made the armor out of is amazing. It's so light and flexible but at the same time its so strong. What's it called?" Jack asked as he fit the metal plates along Whiplash's back and fastened them.

"It's called Gronkle iron. Gobber discovered it when Meatlug was sick in the forge the other week." Hiccup replied as he too began to outfit Toothless with the new armor he had made. Moments later all the dragons were suited up and the riders moved on to getting themselves ready. Hiccup walked into the barn and picked up his duel swords and performed a few basic moves testing their weight and movement, before stretching each out in front of him inspecting their sharpness. Happy with the inspection Hiccup sheaved his swords on his back and looked over at Lizzy who was sat with a whetstone on her lap sharpening all her knives meticulously before storing them in various compartments in her armour, Hiccup always found it amazing that she could store so many on her person. Hiccup walked back outside and found the rest of his friends, Matt was practicing some moves with his great sword and Jack was coating his hidden blades in a powerful sedative to use on any dragons that the Red Death might take control of. Hiccup looked over to Etana who was in her new armour but her rider was no where in sight.

"Hey Girl." Hiccup said petting her snout, "Where's Astrid?" The dragon nodded her head over to the tree line behind the barn. Hiccup walked over to the trees and easily picked up Astrid's trail. Hiccup heard Astrid before he saw her, he could hear as her axe continued to embed itself in the trunk of a tree and her aggravated yelling and she retrieved it and then threw it again. Hiccup eventually saw her beyond a few more trees and decided to remain silent lest she accidently throw her axe at him. A few moments later she huffed in exhaustion before throwing her axe one last time and falling back against a tree and sliding down to the floor.

"Feel better?" Hiccup asked walking over to her and sitting down next to her.

"A little." She replied staring up at the tree tops.

"Are you ok?" Hiccup asked after a moment of silence.

"I don't know."

"Are you scared?"

"No!" Astrid shouted finally turning her gaze to Hiccup. "I'm not scared of the fight; I know we will win." She said with such certainty.

"Then what is it?" Hiccup enquired.

"I'm not scared, I'm nervous."

"Nervous? About what?"

"About…after. After we beat the Red Death and return to Berk victorious. What will happen next? We'll eventually leave, but where will we go? I've barely ever left Berk and I've never left the archipelago. I know nothing of the rest of the world. What if I don't fit in?"

"Astrid you are really over thinking this. To be honest I haven't thought of where we will go next. Its not important now, what is important is this day. And whatever tomorrow brings is tomorrows problem. But whatever it is we will face it together." Hiccup said grabbing one of Astrid's hands and squeezing it before standing up and pulling Astrid to her feet also before embracing her.

"I will follow you anywhere." Astrid whispered, cradling Hiccups face in her hands.

"And I will lay the world at your feet and it will marvel at your strength and beauty." Hiccup replied, pulling back and kissing her softly before pulling away and walking away to the tree where Astrid's axe was still embedded. Grabbing the handle, Hiccup pulled it loose and handed it back to Astrid.

"Shall we get going then, milady? I hate to keep the Red Death waiting." Hiccup said offering Astrid his arm.

"You're such a dork." Astrid laughed before grabbing his arm and dragging him back to the village.

When they got back to the village the rest of their friends were already to head down to the docks.

"I'll meet you guys down there; I've got to check with Stoick that everything is ready before we cast off." Hiccup said, taking a different path that would lead him to the chief's house. Just as Hiccup was approaching the house, Stoick emerged from the house carrying his axe.

"Stoick." Hiccup said in greeting.

"Hiccup. Is everybody ready?" Stoick asked as they started to walk down the docks.

"The catapults and weapons are all loaded on to the ships and your warriors are boarding as we speak."

"That's good. Are you sure your dragons will be fine flying all the way there?"

"Dad they're dragons. Flying is kind of their main mode of transportation." Hiccup laughed. By now they had reached the walkways that would lead them down to the docks. On a ledge overlooking the docks stood his riders waiting to take off and down below was a vast armada of ships.

"Well dad, this is it. You're finally about to find the dragons nest."

"Yeah I guess I am." There was a brief pause between them, neither of them sure how to part ways.

"I just want you to know son," Stoick said, "That I couldn't have done any of this with out you. And…I'm proud to call you my son." Stoick finished awkwardly reaching a hand out to pat Hiccup's shoulder.

"Thank you dad. You have no idea now much that means to me." Hiccup said and the two smiled at each other before parting ways. Hiccup walked over to his friends and mounted Toothless.

"Ok guys we are going to fly ahead and scout out dragon island before rendezvousing with the armada at the entrance to Helheim's Gate. Everyone ready?'

There was a chorus of yeses from all the riders and Hiccup turned Toothless around to face the horizon and pulled his hood up. "Let's go."

-x-

The vast foggy labyrinth of rocks was completely silent when Hiccup and his riders arrived, the water below them seemed utterly still and the wind had ceased to blow. Hiccup ordered everyone to land on one of the rocks and the sound of their landing seemed amplified in the silence.

"Ok guys, I think Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout, Fishlegs and Astrid should stay here and keep a look out of the armada." Hiccup said.

'What?! You can't just leave us here to do nothing." Snotlout shouted.

"It's just for the scouting mission, Snotlout. Plus, I don't know how your dragons will react to returning to the island and I don't want to risk giving away our surprise attack. We won't be gone long." Hiccup nodded to the others and he, Lizzy, Matt and Jack disappeared into the fog.

Hiccup could make out the huge volcano that made up dragon island just up ahead.

"Matt, Lizzy go and scout out the north side of the island, Jack and I'll circle below to look for any stray dragons and check out the terrain for the landing party."

Matt and Lizzy carried on flying forward before swinging to the right to circle round the top of the volcano whilst Hiccup and Jack dived down between the rocks below heading towards the island.

"We'll need to make sure the ships stay on course, if the stray to far east those rocks will tear their hulls to shreds.' Jack said pointing out the rocks to Hiccup.

"Good call." Hiccup replied forming a route in his mind to lead the ships through to avoid those rocks. As they got closer to the island the hum and buzzing of the nest inside the volcano increased to the point where it made the very air hum.

"Can you feel that Hiccup? It's like a voice calling out to me." Jack staring up at the volcano.

"That's the Red Death. Its speaking to the dragon blood that flows inside you, trying to coerce you into becoming one of its minions. You need to try and block it out."

"Yeah I know, I just wasn't expecting it to effect me this much, its so enticing."

"I think once it starts breathing fire at us the appeal will wear off." Hiccup laughed. Just then Matt and Lizzy came flying around the side of the volcano.

"North side was clear, not a dragon insight. They all must be inside the nest." Matt reported.

"Lets get back to the others. I don't like this feeling, its as if a voice is speaking at the very back of my mind and all I want to do is follow it." Lizzy said as a shiver ran down her back.

"Roger that." Jack said and steered Whiplash back towards where they had left the Vikings, the others following closely behind.

Meanwhile a tense silence had descended among the Viking riders as they waited for the armada and the other riders to arrive.

"I can't take this silence anymore! Someone please say something." Snotlout shouted.

"Shut up Snotlout, do you want the Red Death to know we're coming for it." Astrid shushed.

"But you guys all sitting here in silence is starting to make me feel nervous, I mean Fishlegs in practically wetting himself and the twins have been quite so long that I'm starting to think one of them is dead."

"Hey, this is a very stressful time. Expelling bodily waste is a perfectly natural bodily reaction." Fishlegs defended, but then realising what he just said promptly hid behind Meatlug to escape the others disgusted gazes.

"You guys, I think Snotlout might be right. I think Tuffnut is dead." Ruffnut said bending down to try and get a look at his face. Then suddenly Tuffnut jerked and began looking around frantically.

"Wha…What happened? Did I miss the battle?" Tuffnut asked before yawning.

"How could you fall asleep at a time like this?" Fishlegs asked.

"Ermm…boredom." Tuffnut shrugged, while everyone else face palmed themselves.

"Look over there, the first of the ships are on the horizon." Everyone looked in the direction Fishlegs was pointing and watched as more and more ships appeared on the horizon heading towards them.

Astrid turned in the opposite direction to try and see the other riders but the fog was so thick she could barely see a few feet in front of her. The boats were approaching quickly, soon the would arrive at the the outer rocks of Helheim's Gate, when suddenly Hiccup and the other riders abruptly descended from the fog and landed on the rock.

"Hey guys, sorry we took so long, the fog made it difficult to find our way back." Hiccup looked past his friends and saw the ships approaching them.

"Ok guys remember, stick low with the boats until we get to the island, then when it is in sight retreat to above the cloud layer, then when I give the order attack from above. Are you guys ready?" There was a chorus of shouts before all the riders mounted their dragons and few off to meet the ships. Toothless landed on Stoick's flag ship at the head of the armada and took position at the head of the ship to lead the fleet through the labyrinth to Dragon island. Stoick and Gobber came up from below deck and joined Hiccup at the rudder.

"My riders and I scouted out the island and everything looks good. If everything goes to plan the Red Death will never again harm another dragon." Hiccup said to Stoick as he continued to watch Toothless' movements and mirroring them with the ship.

"That's good. I'll sleep a lot easier knowing that Berk will be safe from that accursed creature." Stoick replied.

All too soon the giant volcano that made up the island came into view. Hiccup looked behind him and saw his riders ascending upwards before they disappeared into the clouds. Stoick took over steering as Hiccup went to mount Toothless. The hum of the hive increased the closer they got to it. Stoick lead the other ships to the island and order them to dock along the islands shore. As the other ships continued to emerge from behind the rocks, Stoick's ship docked and Stoick jumped over the side of the ship to land on the pebbles of the beach. Almost instantly the hum silenced and Stoick turned to Hiccup and Toothless who had also climbed ashore.

"They know we're here." Hiccup said. Stoick immediately started barking orders to the ships that had docked to unload to catapults and get into formation. Many ships had still yet to dock but Stoick was unsure how long the volcano full of dragons would remain dormant. Hiccup however remained completely calm, the Red Deaths pull seemed to pulse through his and Toothless' bodies. But when it was just the two of them, their bond was unbreakable.

"Hiccup…" Stoick said, placing his hand on Hiccup's shoulder to get his attention. Hiccup turned to face him and saw that the last of the ships had docked and the men were just finishing setting up the remaining catapults. "The men are ready; we await for your order." Stoick took a step back to man one of the catapults. Hiccup looked up and down the shore of the island and saw an army of Vikings looking to him.

"Men!" Hiccup shouted, "Unleash…HEL!" The catapults fired rocks through the air hitting the side of the Volcano one after the others. When the final bolder hit the rock beneath it crumbed, leaving a giant hole in the side of the volcano. Toothless jumped up and hovered in the air above the catapults and fired a plasma blast down into the tunnel illuminating hundreds, maybe even thousands of dragons. There was a moment of silence when the light receded and tunnel turned black. Then suddenly the dragons burst forward through the hole and ascended to the clouds.

"Everyone hold your fire." Hiccup shouted and more and more dragons poured fourth from the bowels of the volcano. After a while the last of the dragons flew out of the volcano and disappeared into the clouds. Silence descended as all the Vikings waited for the Red Death to appear. Then suddenly the ground started to shake.

"Men, hold your position." Hiccup shouted as the volcano started to crumble away and a giant head emerged releasing a huge roar.

"My God, what is that thing?" Gobber shouted as the rest of its huge body was revealed. The Red Death eyes frantically roamed the army at its feet before it eyes zeroed in on Toothless and Hiccup.

"YOU!" The Red Death roared as its voice vibrated through Hiccup's mind.

"YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE ME!"

"Your reign of tyranny is over!"

The Red Death roared in anger before focusing on Toothless. Hiccup felt as the pull of the Red Death increased, he could feel as the Red Death clawed its way at their bond, but they both remained strong and the Red Death could not corrupt it. The Red Death roared in frustration as the constant pull that Hiccup felt since he got to the island finally ceased.

"HOW DARE YOU DENY ME MY SERVANTS!"

"You will never imprison another dragon again. Fire men!"

The catapults unleashed boulder after boulder into the dragons' body and it roared in pain, but managed to take out some of the catapults with its giant claws. As the catapults were reloading the dragon prepared ignite its fire and attack, but Toothless had already shot a plasma blast into the air signalling the other riders to begin their attack. Suddenly a barrage of fireballs shot out from beyond the clouds as his friends descended into view and hit the Red Death repeatedly, disrupting it from attacking. Hiccup flew up to join his friends and continued to attack.

"Ruff, Tuff I need you to distract the Red death, try and keep its attention on you and off the Vikings. Fishlegs try and round up some more boulders for the catapults."

The Catapults had started to run out of boulders, even with Fishlegs and Meatlug trying their best to keep them well stocked and the Vikings had resorted to throwing sharpened logs at the dragon, but it was having little effect.

"Men, start making your way to the north side of the island." Stoick shouted releasing his last boulder at the Red Death.

"Matt, Snotlout, cover the Vikings as they retreat. Jack, Astrid, Lizzy, circle round and attack it from behind and then lead it back towards me."

Just when Hiccup was starting worry that the dragon wouldn't take the bait and follow them into the clouds, it started to unfurl its wings. Hiccup turned Toothless around and they began to ascend further into the clouds.

"YON MAY HAVE DENYED ME MY NIGHT FURY, BUT THE REST OF THEM ARE MINE.'

Hiccup pulled Toothless to a sharp stop and turned around just as the Red Death let out an enormous roar and simultaneously his riders and their dragons let out shouts of pain.

"No." Hiccup whispered as he looked frantically around him and saw the pain on his friends faces as the Red Death forced itself into their bond and forced its will over the dragons.

"No!" Hiccup cried as he looked down at the Red Death.

"KNOW THE FATE OF THOSE THAT CHALLENGE ME!" The Red Death roared again and his friend's dragons began to shriek in pain as they started falling from the sky.

"NOOOO!" Hiccup shouted as he and Toothless zoomed forward towards the Red Death. Hiccup had never felt such pain and fear that he didn't even notice that as Toothless gathered up a plasma blast his whole body began to glow blue with power. The Night Fury's shriek pieced the air as Hiccup and Toothless descended towards the Red Death releasing his plasma blast. The impact sent the Red Death hurtling back into the volcano and caused the remaining rocks to collapse on top of it. With the Red Death knocked down its hold over the other dragons was interrupted and they managed to regain their flight, avoiding crashing into the ground. The Riders looked towards Toothless and saw his glowing form repeatedly firing plasma blasts into the pile of rubble. The riders were unsure what to do when their dragons felt the need to help Toothless and they all flew towards the glowing pair and started firing at any pile of rock that moved. After a while the movement ceased and the Red Death lay dead but Hiccup continued to urge Toothless to keep firing.

"Hiccup." Astrid shouted trying to get his attention but he ignored her.

"Hiccup!" She tried again louder, but he still couldn't hear her.

"HICCUP!" Astrid screamed and Hiccup immediately ceased firing and turned on her, Toothless already preparing another plasma blast. Astrid gasped as she looked into Hiccup glowing blues eyes that didn't even seem to recognise her.

"Hiccup…" Astrid pleaded and finally recognition flicked across his face and Toothless quickly shot the plasma blast off into one of the nearby rock formations. Slowly the blue light inside Toothless began to dim and Hiccups eyes turned back to their normal green. He turned back towards his friends and saw a mixture of confusion, awe and fear on their faces.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me. I saw you guys falling and I just lost it. I didn't feel in control, I just felt this power and I had to unleash it." Hiccup said stroking Toothless' head, both of them wondering what had happened to them. Before they could discuss what happened any further the riders heard cheering from below and looked down to see the Vikings celebrating their victory. The riders descended down and Hiccup was immediately engulfed in a hug from his father and Gobber.

"You did it son. I'm so proud of you."

"I always knew you had it in you. Well at least I always hoped." Gobber laughed.

"Thanks dad, Gobber." Hiccup replied, but he was still confused over what had just happened to him. Suddenly there were shouts from the crowd and Hiccup noticed the group of dragons that had been controlled by the Red Death returning to the island. They landed on the beach and Hiccup, Toothless and the rest of the riders rushed a head of the Vikings to confront the dragon hoard. However, before Hiccup could do anything the entire hoard bowed down to him and Toothless. Hiccup was shocked and unsure what to do. He turned to Toothless who just shuck his head in confusion. Jack suddenly laughed and said, "Don't you guys get it? Toothless is the new king."

Hiccup and Toothless gazed in confusion at Jack before turning to each other and what he just said dawned on them and they slowly turned to face the vast hoard of dragons who cocked their heads at them expectantly.

"This definitely changes things."


	20. Epilogue

"What does this mean?"

"What does what mean?"

"This! Me, him, what happened to us?"

"What do you think happened?"

"I don't know! That's why I'm asking."

"But what are you asking?"

"Ahh, why are you doing this? You know what I mean?"

"Do I?"

"Yes, you always do! You always have the answers."

"I do, doI?"

"Pavlo, please. I don't know what happened, what is happening. And it scares me."

"Hiccup." Pavlo sighed. "Tell me exactly what happened."

"I don't know! That's what I'm trying to tell you! It all happened so fast, one moment I was myself watching my friends plummeting to their deaths, then the next I was…more." Hiccup shrugged unable to think of a better description of what had happened to him.

"More?" Palvo said, encouraging Hiccup to elaborate.

"I don't how else to describe it, it was just more. More me, more Toothless, more…power. It was like there was too much of me to control, too much power and it had to be released and I couldn't stop it." Hiccup trailed off turning to Toothless and placing a gentle on his head, both of them scared of what happened to them. Silence hung in the air around them.

"Hmmm, interesting." Pavlo eventually replied.

"Interesting? That's all you have to say? I watched through my own eyes, helpless, as the Red Death lay dead beneath me and I couldn't stop. I heard my friends call out to me and I couldn't stop! I could have killed Astrid!-"

"But you didn't." Pavlo interrupted. "You say you had no control, but you did, you stopped."

"But what if I didn't?"

"What if you had killed Toothless? What if he killed you? What if you never left Berk?

What if the the sky was orange and the seas were sand? Do not let what if's cloud what is."

"I can't just ignore this Pavlo, what if this happens again and I'm not strong enough to stop and some one gets hurt because of us." Hiccup said indicating to himself and Toothless. "Please Pavlo, just give me a straight answer, do you know what is happening to us?" Pavlo was silent for a moment.

"Night Fury's were one of the first few dragon species, how they came about in the first place is probably something we will never know. But since the beginning, there were dragons and among these first dragons, the Night Fury's ruled. Strong enough to out match anything it couldn't out run and fast enough to out run anything it couldn't out match. But then came the age of man, and man destroyed them. We chased them out of their homes, invented weapons and hunted them down. Many species learned that to survive they would need to avoid the humans at all cost and so they retreated to their high mountains, their secluded islands and their deep waters. But the Night Fury's would not be chased away, for millennium they fought, but eventually their numbers dwindled and then they were believed to have been wiped out by all. I believed this as well until I found you both, the first Night Fury to be seen in hundreds, maybe even thousands of years, with this scrawny little Viking on his back." Pavlo laughed to himself at the memory, Hiccup waited for him to finish laughing so he could continue but when he finished laughing, he simply gazed out over the horizon.

"And…" Hiccup prompted.

"And what?"

"And how does that explain what is happening to Toothless and I."

"It doesn't I'm afraid." Pavlo sighed.

"What?! You said you'd give me answers!" Hiccup demanded.

"I said no such thing."

"Then why tell me that, most of it I already knew." Hiccup question.

"Never dismiss the past, it is the foundation of the present. With out what was, nothing will be."

"Stop being cryptic with me, I need answers!" Hiccup shouted, he had enough of Pavlos devils advocate. Pavlo turned sharply to look Hiccup dead in the eye and Hiccup was quickly reminded of who he was talking to.

"I'm sorry." Hiccup said bowing his head in respect. "But please understand how scared and confused I am." Pavlo nodded his head in acceptance of Hiccup's apology before turning and walking a few steps and away, spreading his arms out and spinning back around to face Hiccup.

"Do you know where we are Hiccup?" Pavlo asked. Hiccup was momentarily stunned at the change of topic, but cast his eyes around him. The sky was a clear crystal blue above him, soft snow covered the ground and Hiccup only now realised that without his dragon blood keeping him warm, he would probably be freezing. He cast his gaze to the horizon and saw mountains as far as the eye could see. Hiccup turned back to Pavlo and shook his head.

"We are stood at the top of the world! The entire planet is at our feet Hiccup. Out there are new lands to explore, new cultures to experience, new species to find, new lives to change." Palvo lowered his arms and grabbed Hiccup, walking him to the edge of the peak they were standing on. "Out there are your answers Hiccup." Pavlo said gesturing to the horizon. "Go find them." Was the last thing Hiccup heard before he was pushed forward and was suddenly falling.

-x-

"Ugh." Hiccup groaned as he landed on the ground, but not the snowy rock he should have landed on, but soft grass. Beside him he saw Toothless land, a lot more gracefully than he had managed. Then the sick feeling of dimension traveling made itself know and Hiccup realised what had happened.

"Hiccup!" He heard someone shout and when he looked up and quickly recognised that he was back on Berk. He then realised that someone was helping him up and looked to see Jack with a concerned look on his unhooded face.

"Hiccup, what happened to you? We've all been worried since you flew off." Jack said, realising Hiccup once he was on his feet. "You must have gone far, our dragons couldn't even find you."

"You could say that." Hiccup laughed.

"Come on get moving! Astrid will kill me if I don't bring you straight to her." Jack said giving Hiccup a friendly shove in the direction he wanted him to go.

'Astrid' Hiccup thought, she must hate him after what he nearly did. "Is she mad?" Hiccup asked.

"Mate, she is furious." Jack replied, but before he could say any more they had arrived at the mead hall.

"You!" Astrid shouted the moment she caught sight of Hiccup and marched towards him. Before Hiccup had a chance to say anything Astrid punched him right in the jaw. There was a collective hiss in sympathy from every one assembled as Hiccup cradled his jaw.

"Where the Hel were you?!" Astrid demanded. "How dare you just run off!" There was a moment of silence with just Astrid heavy breathing filling the large room. Hiccup was almost too ashamed to look at her, but he eventually did and what he saw surprised him. Astrid had unshed tears in her eyes.

"Astrid-" Hiccup managed before he was interrupted by Astrid throwing her arms round him.

"I was so worried about you." She whispered in his ear, Hiccup simply held her tighter. Eventually Hiccup pulled away and turned to look at all his friends assembled before him.

"I'm so sorry you guys, I don't know what happen to me and I'm sorry for running off. I tried to go and find answers but unfortunately I failed."

"Don't worry Hiccup, we will figure this out. Together." Matt said placing his hand on Hiccups shoulder, Jack and Lizzy nodding behind him.

"Thank you guys, you don't know what that means to me." Said before walking over to his Viking friends.

"I'm so happy I got to see you all again. Fishlegs, you will be a great elder one day and Berk is lucky to have you."

"Are you leaving?" Fishlegs asked. "But…but…you only just-"

"We will see each other again Fishlegs. I'm sure of it." Hiccup said giving Fishlegs a hug before turning to the twins. "Ruff, Tuff, don't ever change." Hiccup laughed patting Tuffnut on the shoulder and giving Ruffnut a hug. "And take care of each other."

"Snotlout, you were always meant to be chief. I leave Berk in your capable hands, you will be a great chief." Hiccup said holding out his hand.

"I won't let you down Hiccup, I promise." Snotlout said crasping it in his own. Hiccup released Snotlout's hand and noticed Rowanna stood slightly behind him. Hiccup pulled her forward and gave her a hug.

"Make an honest man out him." Hiccup laughed and Rowanna blushed but nodded. Hiccup walked over to Gobber and Stoick.

"Gobber, I'm glad that I got to see you again and now you are back where you belong." Hiccup said pulling his old mentor into a hug. "And take care of him for me." Hiccup whispered so Stoick wouldn't hear.

"Aye laddie, I can do that for ye." Gobber replied, pulling away from Hiccup and giving him a wink. Hiccup walked over to his father.

"Dad." Hiccup said and a smile lit up Stoick's face. "I don't even have the words to express how happy I am that we have finely mended this rift between us."

"Me too son. And I'm sorry for everything, I know that doesn't erase or make up for any of it, but know that I deeply regret how I've acted over the years." Stoick said, a tear falling down his cheek and quickly disappearing into his beard.

"I know father, I forgave you a long time ago." Hiccup said pulling his father into a hug. "Now," Hiccup said quickly trying to swallow the tears that were forming in his eyes. "When I come back and visit, I expect you to have trained your own dragon by then." Hiccup laughed.

"Aye lad, I'll give it a go. But I suspect your talents come from your mother's side." Stoick smiled sadly.

"Give it a go, you might surprise yourself." Hiccup said, before walking out the Mead Hall, leaving his family and friends behind. But he knew he'd be back one day.

"Are you okay?" Astrid asked the moment Hiccup was through the door.

"You know what? I actually am, I accomplished what I came here to do." Hiccup said smiling. "How about you, are you ready to leave Berk?" Astrid stopped and looked around the village before turning to face Hiccup again.

"Berk has always been my home, but it is also my past. But you, Etana, this," Astrid placed her hand above her heart, where the scars of her joining resided. "Is my future. Home is with you now and I look forward to where you will lead me." Astrid said kissing Hiccup softly.

"Good." Hiccup replied, "Because I can promise I will lead you to some strange places." The two smiled at each other before making their way over to the other riders and mounting their waiting dragons.

"You know; I think I'm actually going to miss this place." Lizzy mused looking over the village one last time."

"Seriously? You going soft on us?" Jack asked.

"Tell any of them that I said that and I was castrate you in your sleep."

"That sounds more like it." Jack laughed.

Hiccup on Toothless and felt the familiar excitement in the pit of his stomach. He refused to let his questions and worries about what happened to him and Toothless plague him. He just wanted to enjoy this moment. The village had come to see them off and among them his friends, Gobber and his father.

"So who's ready for an adventure?" Hiccup asked and received a chorus of roars from the dragons behind him.

"Then off we go." Hiccup said as Toothless and the other dragon took off, the cheers of Berk behind them.


End file.
